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abbymo172's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
michbella17's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely loved The Marriage Lie and recommended it to all my friends so I was so excited to start this book too and thankfully Belle did not disappoint. I would consider this a domestic thriller/mystery. It is told with two alternating points of view, Kat, whose son, Ethan has disappeared on a class trip and Stef, another mother of Ethan's classmate. This was such a unique spin on a plot with a missing child. Full of twists and surprises, I loved this one. 4.5 huge stars!!
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review!
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review!
exportingtosg's review against another edition
3.0
A mother's race against the clock as her 8 year old, high-IQ son goes missing. Worth the minor suspension of disbelief required, especially concerning her involvement with the investigation.
nzlisam's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up.
A unique title, but does it give too much away? I’m leaning towards the former, mainly because I’m getting a bit tired of all the books with ‘girl’ and ‘wife’ and ‘liar’ in the title, even if it does make it easier to identify my genre.
The author did a wonderful job of writing a mother and son that you really cared about. Ethan was a gifted, sweet, lovable child, whose safe return you were praying for. Kat’s terror, grief, loneliness, and guilt definitely came across. This passage in particular really resonated with me;
‘I see myself standing on the sidewalk, waving up at the dark smudges behind the bus’s tinted glass. I couldn’t even tell if he was waving back, or for that matter, if it was even Ethan. I just picked out one shadowy lump and waved and waved and waved, because the sooner that bus left, the sooner I could race off to work.
The last time I saw Ethan, I didn’t see him at all.’
The scenes at the camp were my most favourite. Kimberly Belle put a lot of thought into how a police investigation might play out in this situation, and it really showed. The questions the sheriff asked Kat were ones I’d never considered before, such as whether or not Ethan could swim, and if he had a history of sleepwalking.
After the halfway point things unfortunately started to take a downhill slide. Several chapters were pretty much filler, and did little to advance the plot, and Kat spent a lot of time running around like a headless chicken, covering the same ground that had already been covered. The police investigation also took a backseat, which I really missed.
There was an inventive twist involving modern technology , very relevant to kids today, that I’ve never seen done before in missing children fiction, so kudos to Belle for her originality. The end reveal was fairly standard though, but the last chapter did impress me. A tamer read than a lot of mysteries, due to its low level violence, and a solid choice for your next summer read.
A unique title, but does it give too much away? I’m leaning towards the former, mainly because I’m getting a bit tired of all the books with ‘girl’ and ‘wife’ and ‘liar’ in the title, even if it does make it easier to identify my genre.
The author did a wonderful job of writing a mother and son that you really cared about. Ethan was a gifted, sweet, lovable child, whose safe return you were praying for. Kat’s terror, grief, loneliness, and guilt definitely came across. This passage in particular really resonated with me;
‘I see myself standing on the sidewalk, waving up at the dark smudges behind the bus’s tinted glass. I couldn’t even tell if he was waving back, or for that matter, if it was even Ethan. I just picked out one shadowy lump and waved and waved and waved, because the sooner that bus left, the sooner I could race off to work.
The last time I saw Ethan, I didn’t see him at all.’
The scenes at the camp were my most favourite. Kimberly Belle put a lot of thought into how a police investigation might play out in this situation, and it really showed. The questions the sheriff asked Kat were ones I’d never considered before, such as whether or not Ethan could swim, and if he had a history of sleepwalking.
After the halfway point things unfortunately started to take a downhill slide. Several chapters were pretty much filler, and did little to advance the plot, and Kat spent a lot of time running around like a headless chicken, covering the same ground that had already been covered. The police investigation also took a backseat, which I really missed.
There was an inventive twist involving modern technology , very relevant to kids today, that I’ve never seen done before in missing children fiction, so kudos to Belle for her originality. The end reveal was fairly standard though, but the last chapter did impress me. A tamer read than a lot of mysteries, due to its low level violence, and a solid choice for your next summer read.
swathi_narasimhan's review against another edition
3.0
A let down for me. The premise seemed very promising but fell flat on the ‘reveal’.
I was able to guess the twists well ahead , and probably thats why it failed to hold my attention.
I liked the author’s ‘Dear wife’ and I had huge expectations but uh-uh.
I was able to guess the twists well ahead , and probably thats why it failed to hold my attention.
I liked the author’s ‘Dear wife’ and I had huge expectations but uh-uh.
tiffanyprystay's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ebbookshelf's review against another edition
fast-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
untheoretical's review against another edition
3.5
An interesting and easy read with believable characters. I wish it was little longer to connect more of the story elements/develop some of the interesting plot twists that occurred later in the book.