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regsnvaughnable's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I thought that I had this figured out early on but then I started questioning myself. Very tense. It got me hooked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Rape
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and War
Minor: Self harm
kccool12255's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
OH MY GOSH. THIS IS SUCH A GOOD BOOK. I LOVE IT.
I feel like I've found my good murder mystery author. I haven't dived fully into the genre yet, and I've wanted to for a good while now. Allen Eskens writes an action-packed narrative that is FILLED TO THE BRIM with interesting characters and a compelling story. This book is so easy to read, it goes by so fast, and I really appreciate finally reading a fast-paced book for the first time in a while. Joe, despite his ordinary name, is a really diverse and interesting character that you can really connect with after hearing his past life experiences. You can understand his feelings with his psychotic mother, his autistic brother, and even his relationship with Carl. It's so wholesome and precious, Carl helps him to appreciate life more, and Joe gives Carl peace before he dies. I ALMOST CRIED, IT'S SO SWEET. I also love Lila Nash as a character, at first she's very stoic and just a blank slate, but then she opens up to Joe and you can understand her completely, as she's also been through a lot. I wasn't a big fan of their relationship at first, since I didn't see a lot of chemistry between the two, but they really work well together in the investigation, and they're just so cute, since they can be so open with each other. Lila's relationship with Jeremy is also very wholesome, it's so cute how she's so sweet to him. Carl is such a good character as well, just having undergone these horrible things in Vietnam. ,and is such a sweet guy, and everyone thinks he raped and murdered this girl. *sob* Carl needs JUSTICE for those years spent in prison. It's also a great commentary on the duality of people, since Carl isn't all good. He's killed and he's murdered people before, and his intentions have not always been honorable. But even though he doesn't believe it, he has the heart of a hero. Beautiful.
WHEN I TELL YOU FOR THE SECOND TIME IN A ROW, I FIGURED OUT EVERYTHING BUT THE ACTUAL IDENTITY OF THE KILLER. I'm so good at picking up the clues, I'm just not good at CONNECTING them. GAH. I mean, decoding the numbers was NOT my doing, and neither was all the DJ stuff...BUT HEY, I GOT MOST OF IT. I DID predict a twist at the end, which there was, and of course it was the stepbrother. OF COURSE. The stepfather was just too obvious, although it was starting to make me believe that he was actually the killer. But no, he's just a dick. Lovely.
What I DIDN'T expect in this book was all the ACTION. We got Joe getting KIDNAPPED and almost MURDERED, Lila almost gets raped and murdered along with Joe in the climax, at which point I was internally screaming, "NO! NOT LILA! SHE'S ALREADY TRAUMATIZED FROM THAT!" Like, I was not expecting all this ACTION. It was a nice surprise, though.
Joe and Lila bond over their trauma :) (not that I'm romanticizing it IN ANY WAY, it's just very heartwarming and sweet how they bond).
I got nothing more to say, really. This book is PHENOMENAL and I really enjoyed it, I will definitely be trying to read more by Allen Eskens in the future. 5 STARS!!!!!!
I feel like I've found my good murder mystery author. I haven't dived fully into the genre yet, and I've wanted to for a good while now. Allen Eskens writes an action-packed narrative that is FILLED TO THE BRIM with interesting characters and a compelling story. This book is so easy to read, it goes by so fast, and I really appreciate finally reading a fast-paced book for the first time in a while. Joe, despite his ordinary name, is a really diverse and interesting character that you can really connect with after hearing his past life experiences. You can understand his feelings with his psychotic mother, his autistic brother, and even his relationship with Carl.
WHEN I TELL YOU FOR THE SECOND TIME IN A ROW, I FIGURED OUT EVERYTHING BUT THE ACTUAL IDENTITY OF THE KILLER. I'm so good at picking up the clues, I'm just not good at CONNECTING them. GAH.
What I DIDN'T expect in this book was all the ACTION.
Joe and Lila bond over their trauma :) (not that I'm romanticizing it IN ANY WAY, it's just very heartwarming and sweet how they bond).
I got nothing more to say, really. This book is PHENOMENAL and I really enjoyed it, I will definitely be trying to read more by Allen Eskens in the future. 5 STARS!!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Violence, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Domestic abuse, and War
Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Incest, and Kidnapping
Minor: Self harm
fluture's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
An enjoyable book to be read if you are looking for a light mystery and thriller without plot twists. I love how intense every chapter is, the author knows how to make us feel intrigued to continue reading it in one sit. Each character was described in a way where we were expected to understand why they acted that way now. Although it has predictable plot, it is still worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, War, Rape, Death, Violence, Murder, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Chronic illness, Sexism, Stalking, Xenophobia, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Alcoholism
friends2lovers's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
1.5
I'm trying to read more of my owned books in 2023 and this is one of many audiobooks I've had in my Audible library for years and never listened to. When I was scrolling through my audible app, the wintery cover caught my eye, and that's pretty much how I came to finally listen to this. Mysteries and thrillers are not usually my genre, so I'm not sure why I bought this in the first place. Maybe it was a daily deal? Anyway, I did like the narrator, Zach Villa. He kind of sounded like a young Armie Hammer. The story was decent, but a little predictable. I didn't connect with any of the characters enough to want to read more of Esken's novels, which are apparently all set in the same Minnesota town. Overall, it was okay/fine. Mostly I'm just glad to finally mark this as read and move on to another book.
Series: On his website, Esken says, "My books are not a series, but rather character arcs that revolve around a small community."
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Tags: winter, amateur detective, college-age MC
Setting: Minnesota, in late fall and early winter
Protagonist: Joe Talbert
Point-of-View: 1st person, past tense
Length: 8h 24m, 333 pages, 90k words (novel)
Format: audiobook from Audible
Narrator: Zach Villa
Read Date: 08 Jan 2023
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Ableism, War, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Abandonment, Sexual content, Cancer, Mental illness, Self harm, Alcoholism, and Addiction
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