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marym2215's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
On the anniversary of and many years after the horrific Memorial Day Massacre, where five teens were brutally murdered moments after Amy Therese Brewer stormed out in a rage, ten individuals linked to the tragedy (including Therese) are summoned to a secluded cliffside home by a journalist under the pretense of covering the story. As a fierce storm traps them inside and certain truths come out, they soon begin to realize that the motive for this gathering might be more threatening than they originally believed. Now a detective and trapped with these individuals, Therese suspects that someone among them knows more about that fateful night than they let on. As individuals begin dying, Therese is forced to recognize the terrifying reality that one of the attendees is willing to kill again, determined to keep their dark secrets hidden forever. Will Therese be able uncover who is behind this sinister plan before it's too late?
I definitely enjoyed this book! I listened to it as an audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. It gives off very similar vibes to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None as well as Clue (the 1985 movie - but minus the comedic aspects). If you like a classic whodunit while individuals are trapped together and you don’t know who you can trust, you will likely enjoy this book. At the beginning I did have a little difficultly keeping all of the characters in order, especially when trying to connect the present day characters to the individuals that were originally murdered. I think it would have really helped if I took notes at the beginning of the book when everyone was first introduced and it was explained how they were connected so I could have used it as a reference as the plot thickened. Overall, I felt this was a solid murder/mystery story with an eerie setting.
Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced audiobook of She Left in return for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Child death
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, and Suicide
amandas_bookshelf's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Grief, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism and Drug use
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Thank you to Sourcebooks for the ARC - I am providing an honest review on my own accord.
Okay, I understand that thrillers and horror can sometimes introduce characters that you are essentially rooting for their demise. I read a lot of horror and thrillers so I understand we need a few people that are wildly unlikeable. However, I did not like anyone in this book, and maybe that is entirely intentional! Maybe that is the point!
The racism, sexism, and anti-unhoused attitudes displayed from multiple characters continued to take me out of the story though. The main character Therese thinks condescendingly about Lorelei, an unhoused person who is called "crazy" probably about 700 million times. She also says, "If I would have guessed that the homeless addict who lived in the park would be the person with the best theory about the killer...." and this continued flippant and glib description is just .... not it.
There's also a section where Therese is first introduced to Wendy, an Asian American woman, and admits to having racist thoughts about her (assuming she was friends with the one other Asian person) and then thinks of her as "exotic". Again, I understand these are not people you root for. However, Therese is posited as our "final girl" so actually .... yes, I'm supposed to root for her! *sigh*
Regardless of the -isms, I really didn't feel the clues pointing to the killer were woven in cleverly at all. We just are given an info-dump of the final reveal in the last few pages, which I find to be frustrating and lackluster. She left, she came back, and she solves the murders from 20 years ago, but I have no idea how because I was not given any viable hints throughout this story.
cw: murder, gun violence, injuries, sexism, racism, classism, anti-unhoused attitudes, blood, child death, cursing, death, homophobia, kidnapping, suicide (*the murderer makes it look like a suicide*)
Thank you to Sourcebooks for the ARC - I am providing an honest review on my own accord.
Okay, I understand that thrillers and horror can sometimes introduce characters that you are essentially rooting for their demise. I read a lot of horror and thrillers so I understand we need a few people that are wildly unlikeable. However, I did not like anyone in this book, and maybe that is entirely intentional! Maybe that is the point!
The racism, sexism, and anti-unhoused attitudes displayed from multiple characters continued to take me out of the story though. The main character Therese thinks condescendingly about Lorelei, an unhoused person who is called "crazy" probably about 700 million times. She also says, "If I would have guessed that the homeless addict who lived in the park would be the person with the best theory about the killer...." and this continued flippant and glib description is just .... not it.
There's also a section where Therese is first introduced to Wendy, an Asian American woman, and admits to having racist thoughts about her (assuming she was friends with the one other Asian person) and then thinks of her as "exotic". Again, I understand these are not people you root for. However, Therese is posited as our "final girl" so actually .... yes, I'm supposed to root for her! *sigh*
Regardless of the -isms, I really didn't feel the clues pointing to the killer were woven in cleverly at all. We just are given an info-dump of the final reveal in the last few pages, which I find to be frustrating and lackluster. She left, she came back, and she solves the murders from 20 years ago, but I have no idea how because I was not given any viable hints throughout this story.
cw: murder, gun violence, injuries, sexism, racism, classism, anti-unhoused attitudes, blood, child death, cursing, death, homophobia, kidnapping, suicide (*the murderer makes it look like a suicide*)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Cursing, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Sexism, Classism, Murder, Blood, Death, Suicide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death
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