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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.
I had read another one of Nicole Lundrigan's works - Thaw - many years ago and was pleased to re-discover this author. The Substitute's genre, psychological thriller, is one I don't read very much but there was something in the description that aroused my curiosity. The small town is rocked to its roots when a young female student is found hanging in the backyard of a substitute science teacher. The chapters alternate between POVs of the substitute science teacher Warren and an unknown chilling protagonist who may be the murderer.
To me, it seemed liked a cross between The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and We Need to Talk About Kevin. Both Warren Botts and the other unknown tween protagonist (perhaps the one and same person?) are extremely intelligent, in the knowing of facts and figures. Both are socially inept and lonesome, exhibiting traits of obsessive compulsive personality disorder (plus maybe Asperger's). Both grew up in broken dysfunctional homes, with their dads killing themselves. For that matter, most of the characters seem to be wrestling with some internal dysfunction, whether it's the deceased student who was facing tremendous pressure to the female town sheriff whose professional behaviour is quite appalling.
Between the two, I found the tween voice more compelling. Burdened by more than what was fair at that age, the adult hypocrisy and the inexplicable ways of the adult world pointed out in an acidic manner was one of the highlights of the book. Of course the way in which contraptions were tested and injustice corrected is not to be condoned (is this person a psychopath having expressed no remorse?) but I could understand their stance and where they were coming from so kudos to the author.
Warren Botts, on the other hand, didn't quite pass the authenticity test for me. The details just didn't add up. Most PhD candidates live and breathe their thesis, yet Warren seems to give nary a thought to it. What is the subject of his thesis - this is never mentioned beyond mentions of a vague lab setting. A believable sidestep to his current position would be teaching assistant to university level biology students, not substitute physics high school teacher. I am also rather tired of the cliche oversimplified media portrayal of dysfunctional genius nerd, The Big Bang Theory being a prime example. Warren with his stutter, obsessive counting and general ineptness dealing with his life seems like a caricature of that. In addition, his supposedly high IQ and background in graduate Biology academia was not convincingly portrayed.
Small town mob justice, trailer park life and the challenges of public high school teaching in this modern age rounded out this novel nicely.
I had read another one of Nicole Lundrigan's works - Thaw - many years ago and was pleased to re-discover this author. The Substitute's genre, psychological thriller, is one I don't read very much but there was something in the description that aroused my curiosity. The small town is rocked to its roots when a young female student is found hanging in the backyard of a substitute science teacher. The chapters alternate between POVs of the substitute science teacher Warren and an unknown chilling protagonist who may be the murderer.
To me, it seemed liked a cross between The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and We Need to Talk About Kevin. Both Warren Botts and the other unknown tween protagonist (perhaps the one and same person?) are extremely intelligent, in the knowing of facts and figures. Both are socially inept and lonesome, exhibiting traits of obsessive compulsive personality disorder (plus maybe Asperger's). Both grew up in broken dysfunctional homes, with their dads killing themselves. For that matter, most of the characters seem to be wrestling with some internal dysfunction, whether it's the deceased student who was facing tremendous pressure to the female town sheriff whose professional behaviour is quite appalling.
Between the two, I found the tween voice more compelling. Burdened by more than what was fair at that age, the adult hypocrisy and the inexplicable ways of the adult world pointed out in an acidic manner was one of the highlights of the book. Of course the way in which contraptions were tested and injustice corrected is not to be condoned (is this person a psychopath having expressed no remorse?) but I could understand their stance and where they were coming from so kudos to the author.
Warren Botts, on the other hand, didn't quite pass the authenticity test for me. The details just didn't add up. Most PhD candidates live and breathe their thesis, yet Warren seems to give nary a thought to it. What is the subject of his thesis - this is never mentioned beyond mentions of a vague lab setting. A believable sidestep to his current position would be teaching assistant to university level biology students, not substitute physics high school teacher. I am also rather tired of the cliche oversimplified media portrayal of dysfunctional genius nerd, The Big Bang Theory being a prime example. Warren with his stutter, obsessive counting and general ineptness dealing with his life seems like a caricature of that. In addition, his supposedly high IQ and background in graduate Biology academia was not convincingly portrayed.
Small town mob justice, trailer park life and the challenges of public high school teaching in this modern age rounded out this novel nicely.
A solid book with an amazing twist at the end - would definitely recommend. I found Warren's chapters a tad slow, and didn't really find his character very interesting, especially set against the creepy and intriguing chapters from the "anonymous" narrator. I get the appeal of leaving the big reveal for the very end, but found myself wishing the author would throw the reader a bone a bit earlier on.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Murder
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I want to give this book a higher rating, but the end has me very confused. So much so, that I'm reading summaries online. I listened to the audiobook which was a fun way to consume this novel, though I didn't feel any connection to the characters. In all honesty, I didn't find myself caring about them much either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Child abuse, Murder
DNF @ 30
Lost interest ☹︎
I didn’t like the writing style and I found it ✨boring✨ and I couldn’t quite follow the beginning. Maybe it was because I was reading two books at the same time but I just couldn’t focus to read this anymore.
Lost interest ☹︎
I didn’t like the writing style and I found it ✨boring✨ and I couldn’t quite follow the beginning. Maybe it was because I was reading two books at the same time but I just couldn’t focus to read this anymore.
This book is confusing at times as it jumps back and forth between the main character, Warren, and an unknown narrator. A lot of things cross over between the two which makes you believe they are the same person. At the end, everything comes together and most (not all) of my questions were answered. A lot of heavy topics in this book.
I had heard nothing but good things about Nicole Lundrigan and her writing, so when I saw THE SUBSTITUTE on Netgalley I had to request it! The cover caught my eye and the brief synopsis I read was enough to pull me in. Talk about a creepy thriller that throws you into the mind of a psychopath.
Warren Botts is a Ph.D who is taking a break from his lab in order to teach middle school science. He's a very quiet, more of a loner, and keeps to himself. He innocently befriends one of his students, Amanda, with no sinister intentions. One morning, Amanda is found dead, but in his backyard. Upon discovering her body, Warren flees the scene.
The story is told through different perspectives, with one being that of an anonymous narrator. This narrator is incredibly intelligent, emotionally detached, and gives the reader insight into past events. As the suspense builds throughout the book, we begin to gain some insights and understanding of the power of secrets, memories, and the illusions in this story.
Lundrigan does an incredible job with developing the characters - you really get to know them. Some you love and some you hate. This is more of a slower building psychological thriller - but it packs a punch! Creepy, demented, and twisted, we get an intimate look inside of a psychopathic killer. I'll definitely be looking for her other books! It's so well written and it'll keep you guessing until the very end.
I give this 4.5/5 stars!
A big thanks to House of Anansi and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Warren Botts is a Ph.D who is taking a break from his lab in order to teach middle school science. He's a very quiet, more of a loner, and keeps to himself. He innocently befriends one of his students, Amanda, with no sinister intentions. One morning, Amanda is found dead, but in his backyard. Upon discovering her body, Warren flees the scene.
The story is told through different perspectives, with one being that of an anonymous narrator. This narrator is incredibly intelligent, emotionally detached, and gives the reader insight into past events. As the suspense builds throughout the book, we begin to gain some insights and understanding of the power of secrets, memories, and the illusions in this story.
Lundrigan does an incredible job with developing the characters - you really get to know them. Some you love and some you hate. This is more of a slower building psychological thriller - but it packs a punch! Creepy, demented, and twisted, we get an intimate look inside of a psychopathic killer. I'll definitely be looking for her other books! It's so well written and it'll keep you guessing until the very end.
I give this 4.5/5 stars!
A big thanks to House of Anansi and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book was good, and definitely creepy! I didn't expect the final little reveal at the end!
My Review:
What I Liked:
Writing style. The best part of the novel, besides the character develop and the suspense, was the writing style. I took my time with the novel but kept coming back because I enjoyed the Lundrigan's writing.
Mystery/Suspense. I felt that novel was not predicable and I had no idea who the killer was until the last few chapters. I suggest mainly picking this novel up for great twist at the end and the great build up to the big reveal.
Characters. The two main character duel points of view between each chapter were interesting because you knew the of one (Warren, the substitute) while the other one remained nameless and genderless. I enjoyed the fact that characters were flawed, it made them feel like real people, and made the reader question if they should like them or not.
What I Did Not Like:
Animal Cruelty. There were quite a few incidents of animal cruelty that were hard for me to read, and I nearly put it down after the first one.
POV. The altering POV between the killer and the main character was interesting but it was also confusing, at least it was for me. However, I did like the mystery surrounding the nameless point of view.
I recommend checking out this underrated thriller, it kept me guessing all the way through.
My Rating:
4 Stars Out of 5 Stars
What I Liked:
Writing style. The best part of the novel, besides the character develop and the suspense, was the writing style. I took my time with the novel but kept coming back because I enjoyed the Lundrigan's writing.
Mystery/Suspense. I felt that novel was not predicable and I had no idea who the killer was until the last few chapters. I suggest mainly picking this novel up for great twist at the end and the great build up to the big reveal.
Characters. The two main character duel points of view between each chapter were interesting because you knew the of one (Warren, the substitute) while the other one remained nameless and genderless. I enjoyed the fact that characters were flawed, it made them feel like real people, and made the reader question if they should like them or not.
What I Did Not Like:
Animal Cruelty. There were quite a few incidents of animal cruelty that were hard for me to read, and I nearly put it down after the first one.
POV. The altering POV between the killer and the main character was interesting but it was also confusing, at least it was for me. However, I did like the mystery surrounding the nameless point of view.
I recommend checking out this underrated thriller, it kept me guessing all the way through.
My Rating:
4 Stars Out of 5 Stars
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A