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sarahastley's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
3.0
amandairene's review against another edition
3.0
I was very excited to see a second book from S.J. Watson and found most of it hard to put down. The ending was a bit of a letdown, unfortunately.
eri_cat93's review against another edition
2.0
This book was just not good. I usually LOVE S.J. Watson so maybe I just went in with my expectations too high, but it was a big miss. The first half/three quarters of the book are a drag & extremely repetitive. Every 'twist' was completely obvious from very early on and not a single character acts like a real person. The dialogue was clunky and unnatural and ultimately the ending was rushed and underwhelming.
leighe's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
2.0
katykelly's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
At times 4 stars, at others 3 (including an ending that had me 'turning page' for the final chapter that just wasn't there).
Like Before I Go To Sleep, this book really must be read without spoilers and I'll help with that by staying general and not giving anything away.
Julia is devastated to hear of her sister's murder in Paris. Though at the same time guiltily relieved - her son Connor is actually her nephew, and her sister Kate was trying to regain custody before her death. Wanting to find out what happened, she uses Kate's online details and logs in to websites her best friend tells her that Kate used to meet men.
But can Julia keep separate her own life from her new online one? And can it help discover her sister's murderer?
It starts slowly but does eventually become tense and twisty. Julia though I found pretty annoying - her decisions aren't sensible, she really does at times 'make her own bed'. One plot twist had me turning back half the book as it didn't actually make sense based on something from earlier.
I didn't find this as good an idea as the author's debut. Much more standard thriller than original concept that you just can't see a way out of.
I did enjoy the thriller elements of this, and guessing the solution to the murder mystery. But like 'Into the Darkest Corner' (a book I loved) the dark elements of certain characters seemed obvious, it seemed crazy that Julia put herself in so many dangerous situations.
And that ending... Too abrupt, very unlike the complete rounding off in his debut, I was very unsatisfied and annoyed.
Still, I can imagine it will be picked up for a film adaptation. But it's not as strong as Watson's debut.
Review of a NetGalley advance copy.
At times 4 stars, at others 3 (including an ending that had me 'turning page' for the final chapter that just wasn't there).
Like Before I Go To Sleep, this book really must be read without spoilers and I'll help with that by staying general and not giving anything away.
Julia is devastated to hear of her sister's murder in Paris. Though at the same time guiltily relieved - her son Connor is actually her nephew, and her sister Kate was trying to regain custody before her death. Wanting to find out what happened, she uses Kate's online details and logs in to websites her best friend tells her that Kate used to meet men.
But can Julia keep separate her own life from her new online one? And can it help discover her sister's murderer?
It starts slowly but does eventually become tense and twisty. Julia though I found pretty annoying - her decisions aren't sensible, she really does at times 'make her own bed'. One plot twist had me turning back half the book as it didn't actually make sense based on something from earlier.
I didn't find this as good an idea as the author's debut. Much more standard thriller than original concept that you just can't see a way out of.
I did enjoy the thriller elements of this, and guessing the solution to the murder mystery. But like 'Into the Darkest Corner' (a book I loved) the dark elements of certain characters seemed obvious, it seemed crazy that Julia put herself in so many dangerous situations.
And that ending... Too abrupt, very unlike the complete rounding off in his debut, I was very unsatisfied and annoyed.
Still, I can imagine it will be picked up for a film adaptation. But it's not as strong as Watson's debut.
Review of a NetGalley advance copy.
eefreadssometimes's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars for the effort. Wow - I now know where ‘lost the plot’ came from.
So many plots, so many holes in the plots.
What a messy book. Writing style of someone who never wrote a book before.
So many plots, so many holes in the plots.
What a messy book. Writing style of someone who never wrote a book before.
vandermeer's review against another edition
1.0
Bin bei zehn Prozent und langweile mich zu Tode. Schlecht geschrieben ist es auch.
missmim's review against another edition
1.0
I can take a lot of things from protagonists but complete stupidity is not one of them. Avoid.