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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
I do not know how to review this book. If I tell you any of the plot, it will more than likely spoil it, and that is not something I want to do. If you read this, go in blind, don't read any reviews, don't read any spoilers, because you need to experience this book knowing NOTHING.
I have NEVER read a book like this before, and I probably never will again. This is a beautiful story of family, love, and sacrifice. The first half of the book had me wondering what was going on, and the second half, I just cried.
Today, over 10 hours after finishing it, I still tear up when I think about the last part of this book. I have no idea why more people are not talking about it. If you do read it, just go with the journey. At times it won't make sense, and you will think, what the hell am I reading, but I promise, in the end, you will be glad that you spent time with these characters.
I have NEVER read a book like this before, and I probably never will again. This is a beautiful story of family, love, and sacrifice. The first half of the book had me wondering what was going on, and the second half, I just cried.
Today, over 10 hours after finishing it, I still tear up when I think about the last part of this book. I have no idea why more people are not talking about it. If you do read it, just go with the journey. At times it won't make sense, and you will think, what the hell am I reading, but I promise, in the end, you will be glad that you spent time with these characters.
“There comes a time when you realise God wasn’t a mathematician. She was an artist. The best physicists are poets. They’re the only ones who can bridge the gap between the artist and her work.”
My feelings about this book went up and down so many times in the last several chapters. There are things about it that I find unbelievable, too sentimental, almost cheesy. It's not as much a mystery as I would have liked it to be and I don't really think one could believably call it a thriller either. But on the other hand, because I am who I am, and because I've experienced the things I've experienced, there are certain parts of this book that just reached into my chest and closed their fingers around my heart. I was sobbing when I ended it. Ugly crying on the couch.
It's a book with a lot of layers, and at first it's pretty transparent about that. We know that the book we're reading is one written by a man called David Asha, and we know that he's had his son, somehow, taken away from him. David is telling us about Harriet, an ex-police officer, and the plot really starts off with her. She finds a written note in a second-hand book, a plea for help, and this sends her down the rabbit hole of investigating the Ashas, what happened to the family. Soon, she also has to contend with how Ben, a man she once thought might be the love of her life, might be intertwined with it all. The book is at once complex and simple. Very quick to read, very simple language, but with a lot of layers. Lots of moments where I had to pause and think about how things intersect. That happened mainly in the latter half of the book, when we start to see events really coming together. I won't say much about the plot, because there's nothing much I can say without getting into spoilers. I do see why this might not work for other readers, and why some people might think it too convoluted, or too cheesy. I might have also been one of those people. The entire love at first sight thing is something that I have trouble taking seriously in romance novels, and I have just as much trouble with it in other genres. It's very seldom what I want to read. But like I said, this just reached into me and hit an emotional core that resounded so hard.
It's not the most robust mystery in the world, but because it had a lot of moving parts and a lot of little things to latch on and think about, that helped to make it a really compelling read. This was mostly a physical read, but I did listen to the audiobook as read by Justin Avoth when the physical book changed fonts into something that didn't really agree with my eyes. Just a few pages, so it wasn't too annoying. I liked the audio fine, but I definitely preferred just reading this. This is one that I'm going to remember for a long, long time.
5/5 !!!
i loved this with my whole heart! this is such a genre bending book including elements of thriller/mystery, literary fiction, romance and another i can’t say without spoiling
i loved this with my whole heart! this is such a genre bending book including elements of thriller/mystery, literary fiction, romance and another i can’t say without spoiling
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Okay, so I liked this in the end, but there are a couple of things keeping me from giving this a full four stars. More thoughts later!
[3.5 stars, rounded up]
[later]
I don't remember this enough to review it so I declare REVIEW AMNESTY.
[3.5 stars, rounded up]
[later]
I don't remember this enough to review it so I declare REVIEW AMNESTY.
I had a hard time with this book. The premise interested me and I wanted to like it but it had too much going on (I think there were maybe three different plots in this book) and made a hard pivot at the end.
I liked Harriet's character and appreciated most of her story, but I could never bring myself to care about Ben, Elliott, or any of the others. About halfway through, I found myself quite lost but I kept going to find out more about Harri's investigation. And when I got to the end, the book seemed to switch genres and wrap up in a whirlwind. It was an interesting ending, but not one I'd expected based on the first 75% of the book or the book description.
So I'm not mad I read this, but I probably wouldn't recommend it, at least not if you're looking for a good ol' mystery.
I liked Harriet's character and appreciated most of her story, but I could never bring myself to care about Ben, Elliott, or any of the others. About halfway through, I found myself quite lost but I kept going to find out more about Harri's investigation. And when I got to the end, the book seemed to switch genres and wrap up in a whirlwind. It was an interesting ending, but not one I'd expected based on the first 75% of the book or the book description.
So I'm not mad I read this, but I probably wouldn't recommend it, at least not if you're looking for a good ol' mystery.