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bekah1210's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Addiction, Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Torture, and Gun violence
Minor: Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Child death, Grief, Child abuse, and Drug use
chymerra's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, and Murder
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Trafficking
tinamayreads's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Moderate: Gun violence and Murder
savvyrosereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Jenna, Donnie, and Nico are all adults leading very different lives—but they remain tied together thanks to their actions in an abusive group home when they were teenagers…and those choices may now be back to haunt them.
Finlay’s previous novel The Night Shift was a top thriller for me in 2022, so I was really looking forward to this one, and unfortunately I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped or expected. I’ll start off with the good: this was super fast-paced and had a ton of action, with short chapters that made it easy to keep flying through. Finlay is an engaging writer and that remained true here—the characters were fairly interesting and the prose was crisp and easy to read. Overall, while I wasn’t enthralled, it was a relatively fun read, especially towards the end.
On the other hand, I found the plot to ultimately be pretty lacking—it was hard to follow in the first half, and once it clicked into place it ended up feeling very predictable. There were also some plot holes that I won’t get into due to spoilers, but I found it hard to suspend my disbelief enough to get past them.
All of this said, I’m also not much of a spy/action thriller fan, and that is how I’d primarily characterize this novel. If you’re a fan of those vibes, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this a LOT more than I did!
Recommended if you like: spy thrillers; action movies; sins-of-the-past trope (no idea if this is a thing but it’s what I call it)
CW: Blood/violence/death/torture/murder; mentions of pedophilia/trafficking; addiction (including drugs, alcohol, and gambling); grief/loss of loved one
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Addiction, Torture, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Grief and Trafficking
noladawnreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gun violence and Death
Moderate: Addiction and Bullying
louisekf's review
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gun violence, Bullying, Alcohol, Death, and Murder
gimmebacon's review against another edition
4.0
In the audiobook, the different points of view each had their own narrator which really helped bring the characters to life
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Murder, and Death
amobrien's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.
Graphic: Violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual violence
goatsrsexy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence and Gun violence
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Sexual violence
onemorepagecrew's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Bullying, Addiction, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, and Gun violence