Reviews with content warning for Murder - Les Apparences

The narrators are really obnoxious. I get this is the point, they’re both heavily faulted, but do BOTH leads need to constantly use derogatory language against women? Nick uses descriptors like “vaginal” and “fuck-doll of a girl,” and deems communication a “womanly art.” Amy talks as if being female means being shallow, needy, demanding, etc. (“I know, I know, I’m being a girl.”). She plays the perfect “poor me” damsel-in-distress.
The story is a battle between sexes. Again, that’s the premise: it’s a catastrophic drama between husband and wife. I see that some people find the ending really unsatisfying because of this, but if you go into it without expectations, I personally think it comes full circle in a way that fits the characters.
Great build-up with an engaging concept. We get Nick’s POV in present day, while Amy’s is slowly revealed through old diary entries. I love how the mystery feels like a game, between Nick’s secretiveness and Amy’s literal scavenger hunt clues.
Writing quality is solid. Paced well with a wide range of vocab. Chapters flow into each other and feel substantial, rather than filler or “hooky” just to keep the reader’s attention (like many others I’m reading these days).

Overall, the plot is as tense as I remember — this is one that I wish I could reread for the first time to properly process all the revelations and details.

Content Warnings

uisgeart's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Interesting book but pretty slow in the beginning. The voice acting and quality of the audio book itself was very good though. I really began to enjoy it more near the ending though, as my perspective of the individual characters changed. Was a fun read but also very long haha. I do recommend it nonetheless.

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sharkfan's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

The ending was terrible. (Spoilers) there were things the cops could have done to find out she was lying - figure out where Desi was on the day she went missing, for example. I felt like the author didn’t want a happy ending so made it seem like Amy was untouchable, when I don’t think that’s actually the case.

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iloveyoutoad's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

unbearable characters. UNBEARABLE. But I believe this was the author’s aim so props to her because she aced that!! Unconventional characters and ending, felt like a thoughtful discussion of human flags. If you’re looking for a book that leaves you saying “what the actual f-“ out loud, this one is definitely for you. Gets creepier and weirder with each page, but not in a wrong way (?).

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velvetcelestial's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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