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linnaboobooks's review against another edition
3.0
This the definition of an average, slow-moving mystery.
We follow two near-identical families; a wife, a husband, and two kids (boy and girl), as they do a house-exchange for a week's vacation to take a breather from the difficult lives they're leading only for that all to turn on its head within the first couple of days.
There's nothing unique that sets this book apart from any other mystery book, it does subvert a couple tropes later on and delves into a topic regarding trauma without directly discussing it beyond what we see on-page. If you're uncomfortable with the discussion of weight that leans toward fatphobia/diet culture, Oscar for most of the book makes a plethora of slights in his head and some out loud, as well as lean into diet culture type thoughts. This will make his chapters bothersome to read, so if you are set on reading this and that bothers you - I think you can get away with skimming through his, and picking up where he isn't constantly thinking about it.
We follow two near-identical families; a wife, a husband, and two kids (boy and girl), as they do a house-exchange for a week's vacation to take a breather from the difficult lives they're leading only for that all to turn on its head within the first couple of days.
There's nothing unique that sets this book apart from any other mystery book, it does subvert a couple tropes later on and delves into a topic regarding trauma without directly discussing it beyond what we see on-page. If you're uncomfortable with the discussion of weight that leans toward fatphobia/diet culture, Oscar for most of the book makes a plethora of slights in his head and some out loud, as well as lean into diet culture type thoughts. This will make his chapters bothersome to read, so if you are set on reading this and that bothers you - I think you can get away with skimming through his, and picking up where he isn't constantly thinking about it.
marieintheraw's review against another edition
2.0
In comparison to the last mystery-thriller I read, and I know I shouldn't compare, this was average at best.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
2.0
I have a great fondness for dark crime novels, so I picked Twisted River off of a display labeled "Celtic Noir" with great excitement, having never heard of author Siobhan MacDonald. It's always exciting to discover a new favorite author. What I discovered instead is that while I love the genre, I also love a well-written and well-plotted book, and Twisted River was neither of those things.
Two families swap houses for a week in October. Kate and Mannix want to give their sensitive and bullied son the treat of a week in New York and Hazel wants to show her hometown of Limerick, Ireland to her family. Told in chapters that alternate between the adults, the reader learns about the problems both families are facing.
The story starts to take off on page 159, although the two women mention that they are feeling a sense of rising dread or impending doom several times. The tension in the story is based on characters withholding information from the reader even as the chapter is told from their point of view. So one character will ruminate at length on the ominous text messages he's receiving, while failing to think about the actual messages, or a character will make oblique references in a personal journal that point in one direction, but this will be shown to be a red herring later on. And the ending was just silly.
I loved that this book was set in an unrepresented locale. That's what was good about this book.
Two families swap houses for a week in October. Kate and Mannix want to give their sensitive and bullied son the treat of a week in New York and Hazel wants to show her hometown of Limerick, Ireland to her family. Told in chapters that alternate between the adults, the reader learns about the problems both families are facing.
The story starts to take off on page 159, although the two women mention that they are feeling a sense of rising dread or impending doom several times. The tension in the story is based on characters withholding information from the reader even as the chapter is told from their point of view. So one character will ruminate at length on the ominous text messages he's receiving, while failing to think about the actual messages, or a character will make oblique references in a personal journal that point in one direction, but this will be shown to be a red herring later on. And the ending was just silly.
I loved that this book was set in an unrepresented locale. That's what was good about this book.
susiegorden's review against another edition
3.0
Hmmm ... Unsure about this book. Have you ever read one of those where it seems as if only some of the characters are fully fleshed? And the others, perhaps the author didn't like them well enough to move beyond caricatures? Yeah, this is one of those. And I'm not entirely sure that the plot twists *actually work*? But with all of that? I still enjoyed it! I liked its slippery, elusive nature.
marsetta's review against another edition
4.0
I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars out of 5
The tale starts out with two families, both with secrets, house swap, one from New York, the other from Limerick. The book started out with a great cliffhanger with the body of a dead woman in the boot of the family's car in Limerick.
I like the twists and turns within the book but the ending, to me, was a bit flat, hence the 3.5 stars instead of 4. However I would consider reading more from this author as I liked her style of writing.
http://crimeandmysterybookreview.wordpress.com
3.5 stars out of 5
The tale starts out with two families, both with secrets, house swap, one from New York, the other from Limerick. The book started out with a great cliffhanger with the body of a dead woman in the boot of the family's car in Limerick.
I like the twists and turns within the book but the ending, to me, was a bit flat, hence the 3.5 stars instead of 4. However I would consider reading more from this author as I liked her style of writing.
http://crimeandmysterybookreview.wordpress.com
bsabis57's review against another edition
3.0
Liked the story, decent writer, and good characters...BUT I thought the Oscar twist was cheap.
goodcook07's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was going to be one of my Favorite. Books. Ever. The plot unraveled so surprisingly - toward the end I had to go back and re-read the first few pages and say whaaatttt?!?! What you assumed all along about the characters is totally wrong! I thought what a genius! THEN I got to the last 15 pages and I have never been so disappointed. Suddenly the genius plot turned trite and cheesy. The story ended like the author was limited to a certain number of pages - "Well lets just end this now!". It wrapped up like a combination of a bad documentary and a cheesy 90's thriller movie.
books_plan_create's review against another edition
4.0
I was not expecting to be as engrossed in this book as I was! Just when I thought I had everything figured out, I was wrong. Be prepared for twists and turns, and not trusting yourself with what you read.
A quick note about a possible trigger warning: I don't know if 'fatphobia' is the correct word, but one of the characters has a serious hang up about weight related issues and it was very off-putting, even though it fell in line with the character.
The other thing is an affair plays a part in this story and honestly had I known, I may not have read it since that subject is a difficult one for me to read. BUT, I will say I did find satisfaction in the end result, so I am glad I stuck with it.
Reading Challenge 2022: Irish Read A Thon
A quick note about a possible trigger warning: I don't know if 'fatphobia' is the correct word, but one of the characters has a serious hang up about weight related issues and it was very off-putting, even though it fell in line with the character.
The other thing is an affair plays a part in this story and honestly had I known, I may not have read it since that subject is a difficult one for me to read. BUT, I will say I did find satisfaction in the end result, so I am glad I stuck with it.
Reading Challenge 2022: Irish Read A Thon
ajworkman77's review against another edition
4.0
It actually shocked me...much like Gone Girl, Girl On Train. The ending could have been darker, and it has a bit of unnecessary plot lines (re: mob family), but maybe that was actually a red herring? Hmmmmm.