Reviews

The Couple Across the Street by Anita Waller

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bookishbrighton's review against another edition

3.0

This was a slow starter, but picks up about a third of the way in and by two thirds in I couldn’t put it down. It’s got a good crime-mystery running through it, with some other interesting side stories that kept me interested. I found two of the main protagonists, Clare and Jed, really unlikeable to start with - REALLY unlikeable; then all of a sudden it was like they’d both had personality transplants later in the book and their characters felt quite inconsistent. I also found the police characters so unpleasant that it annoyed me - the way they spoke about people and situations. Maybe that was part of the point of the book, that there are different sides to people, and it was lost on me - I don’t know, but it just made me feel unsatisfied. The sudden change of information and new information about 75% in was frustrating, particularly when we’ve been hearing from the person involved’s perspective (vague, so no spoilers!) and I always feel like it’s quite a weak way to bring in a twist or make it impossible for readers to solve the mystery. All that said, I did enjoy it once I got into it and I’d recommend it if you want an average, relatively easy mystery/crime read.

nilzac's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

catherineamerica's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Quick read. Unconnected plot. Lots of weird threads. Feels sponsored by Amazon kindle lol.

rayrooz's review against another edition

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2.0

A domestic suspense, and all the men were HORRENDOUS people and one man who turned out to be a pedophile rapist, was killed by his victim who was then arrested and it was so AMAZINGLY unsatisfactory.
Where is my female rage?
Where is my cartharsis?
Where is my revenge?
My justice?
If I had known the killer wasn't going to get away with it would have been a dnf.

Literally every man in the book was having an affair, and all the women except the ones who kill the rapist are just chill with it. Brush it off. Oh yeah well that's difficult sure but hey, at least I can make a nice quilt now.

I'm upset.

rachaellaurenpotts's review against another edition

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4.0

This really was a pretty decent book overall! Not fast paced how I usually like them, in my opinion! But definitely understand why Grace did what she did, she just should have confronted Rob instead of killing him! And I know without a doubt Vic would have left him immediately if she knew what happened! I feel so bad female victims of SA never feel safe enough to come forward. I was also glad Jed met his imperfect family and felt a belonging like he never had!!

princessvee's review against another edition

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reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

Unfortunately, this wasn’t my cup of tea. I found the narrative style extremely difficult to enjoy and the plot very drawn out. I skim read the last half to get it finished sadly. Difficult themes are tackled in an unsuccessful manner unfortunately, with very strange descriptive focus on nebulous topics.