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jillie's review against another edition
4.25
Read if you like:
- dual timelines (done well)
- creepy atmosphere
- slight paranormal elements
November 2023
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, Drug abuse, and Addiction
Minor: Sexual assault and Forced institutionalization
kmsander4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The mystery was easily solved and the ghost story wasn't something I really wanted or needed. It was fitting for spooky season but if it wasn't this time of year, it probably would have fallen to 2.5 stars.
It's fine if this is your kind of thing, but there are better mystery-thriller options out there!
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, and Car accident
Moderate: Rape and Child death
Minor: Miscarriage
lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Gun violence, Car accident, Child death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Bullying, and Child abuse
With thrillers like this, there are always a lot of CWs, so please check them before reading, if necessary. This book was a solid mystery, but St James's novels (of the two I have read, at least), are more about the characters and how they solve the mystery and their own traumas, rather than shocking last minute reveals. The solutions are not really that surprising. I couldn't help but comparing this to the author's book, The Broken Girls, and this one felt like a lesser (and less interesting) version. There are a LOT of surface level similarities with the character types, a spooky building, even careers of the the heroine and hero. The two main characters here were semi-decently fleshed out, but the other minor characters really weren't. I read it in literally one sitting, but more just to be done with it, rather than that I couldn't put it down. All the same, I would still give St. James another try. This was solid (and The Broken Girls was very well-done and memorable).prittypeaches's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, and Death of parent
Paranormal activity displaying and causing violent acts.samsbookreview's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual assault, Child death, Rape, and Kidnapping
selene_nyxly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Murder, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Pedophilia and Miscarriage
blouviere4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Car accident, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Murder, Grief, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, Alcoholism, and Blood
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, and Sexual violence
honeywine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
There are ghosts, which I love, and the main character is likable and relatable. I’d recommend this book to people who like darker stories and paranormal sprinklings.
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Bullying, Stalking, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Confinement, Child death, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Pedophilia, Torture, and Car accident
elysedc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Car accident, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Gore, Blood, Death, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship
art_books_chemistry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
First off this book is classified as a mystery as well as horror or paranormal. Although there is some of the latter (no horror in my opinion), it is used as a device in certain spots to further the plot in such ways that would be unnecessary if the sequence of events was simply thought about a bit more. This book would have been much more suspenseful and mysterious if the paranormal bits were more vague. Some people will laugh but some of the paranormal instances in the book don't fit in with the typical standards for such things making it feel forced.
There were a variety of other details that felt forced, as if the author was trying to meet a page count and didn't have enough ideas left to develop the plot further. I love the cat, but it's storyline was thrown in as if we needed to see that Shea's life is perfectly-normal-thank-you-very-much-look-she-has-a-cat. However, Shea has an incredibly rich back story that could be delved into a lot more. We barely scratch the surface of her trauma, instead focusing on her fear of cars. Maybe a psychologist would disagree but it felt very flat and unrealistic. And I don't mean in the sense that someone can't have a pathological fear of cars or strange ways of dealing with trauma; I mean the way she acted and reacted in the book felt like how someone without trauma thinks people with trauma are.
I liked the base storyline and thought the mystery components were well thought out. Some of the characters were likeable. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this to anyone.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Gun violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, and Drug abuse
Minor: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Terminal illness