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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
At times great, and at others not so great. This book was one I’d switch opinions on almost throughout.
Starting with things I wasn’t a big fan of. The main character Maya Stern was irritating, to say the least. An attempt at writing a strong female lead was overshadowed by the author's constant, and I mean constant reminders she was a strong female lead.
This was done by referencing her build, she was 6 ft tall you know! Her past in the military, she was the first woman to fly the XYZ Chopper 900 you know! And finally, the fact she was an expert marksman, she once wiped out a whole army armed with nothing but a spud gun and a Biro! I may be exaggerating ever so slightly.
The side characters were also not brilliant. Their actions all seemed irrational or under or oversold. With hapless police, old friends, and enemies disguised as friends it had all the tropes. The icing on the cake was when Maya’s adult friend said this to her. “It makes my tummy hurt when you lie to me."
It wasn’t just the dialogue that came across as cheesy. Although not through the entire book. At times the writing was just a bit cliche or something I’d describe as meh. This could take away from key moments in the book.
The book was also very contrived. Although I’m not sure this is a bad thing. At times it was annoying, but it did lead to some interesting plotlines, some of which I didn’t see coming.
Now that’s out of the way onto the things I did enjoy. The story. At first, I wasn’t sold, but once things got going I started to get invested. Not the fastest plot, once the ball starts rolling it picks up speed and hits terminal velocity quickly.
It was engaging and enjoyable, despite it being over the top. If you can put that to one side it’s a fun harmless read that takes little to no effort to keep up with. Very simple and easy to digest.
Once you’re reading the pages begin to fly by before you even realise it. I read the last 180 pages all in one sitting. Not blowing any socks off, it did all it needed to create a book suitable for the genre.
Overall, decent enough. Not pushing the boat out too far. The plot was decent, but the characters were not. It was simple to read and for the most part enjoyable.
Starting with things I wasn’t a big fan of. The main character Maya Stern was irritating, to say the least. An attempt at writing a strong female lead was overshadowed by the author's constant, and I mean constant reminders she was a strong female lead.
This was done by referencing her build, she was 6 ft tall you know! Her past in the military, she was the first woman to fly the XYZ Chopper 900 you know! And finally, the fact she was an expert marksman, she once wiped out a whole army armed with nothing but a spud gun and a Biro! I may be exaggerating ever so slightly.
The side characters were also not brilliant. Their actions all seemed irrational or under or oversold. With hapless police, old friends, and enemies disguised as friends it had all the tropes. The icing on the cake was when Maya’s adult friend said this to her. “It makes my tummy hurt when you lie to me."
It wasn’t just the dialogue that came across as cheesy. Although not through the entire book. At times the writing was just a bit cliche or something I’d describe as meh. This could take away from key moments in the book.
The book was also very contrived. Although I’m not sure this is a bad thing. At times it was annoying, but it did lead to some interesting plotlines, some of which I didn’t see coming.
Now that’s out of the way onto the things I did enjoy. The story. At first, I wasn’t sold, but once things got going I started to get invested. Not the fastest plot, once the ball starts rolling it picks up speed and hits terminal velocity quickly.
It was engaging and enjoyable, despite it being over the top. If you can put that to one side it’s a fun harmless read that takes little to no effort to keep up with. Very simple and easy to digest.
Once you’re reading the pages begin to fly by before you even realise it. I read the last 180 pages all in one sitting. Not blowing any socks off, it did all it needed to create a book suitable for the genre.
Overall, decent enough. Not pushing the boat out too far. The plot was decent, but the characters were not. It was simple to read and for the most part enjoyable.
This was my first Harlan Coben novel. Maybe it shouldn't have been, because I've heard really good things about his previous novels. I liked this one. But, I didn't love it It was okay. I found myself asking the same question over and over again. And at the end it turns out my question led exactly to the denouement. Which means when the big reveal happened, I wasn't all that surprised. In fact, my response was more of the "well, yeah" variety.
This was my first Harlan Coben book but it definitely will not be my last! He writes a really tight and effective thriller that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I totally did not see that ending coming and thought it was a very clever ending. Anyway, if you're looking for a tightly wound story that doesn't sag at all, may I recommend this book?!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Excellent book! A page-turning, murder mystery with a crazy twist.
Good plot, I guess, but badly written. It was like a Dan Brown novel that was stretched three times as long. The characters all felt the same, just different names and roles. It's hard to get into the story. Even though the ending was twisted, I felt that the "Aha!" moment was lost between the monotonous characters and redundant, over-clichéd sentences. This book left me with a bad taste in my mouth. It could have been a good mystery thriller, had it not been for pure bad writing.
Another awesome thriller. I couldn't put it down.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense