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marbooks88's review
4.0
After an evening spent together their parents think that something is going on with Jack, Hannah, and Christopher but they never expect what the police suspect. A girl with ties to the 3 of is found dead. Their parents will do anything to save their children, but will where they fall in the town social hierarchy make a difference? The police suspect Christopher, the outside with an immigrant father but did he do it?
Thanks to Celadon Books for providing an ARC for my honest review.
Thanks to Celadon Books for providing an ARC for my honest review.
thebrunettebiblio's review
2.0
2.5 ⭐️
Locust Lane is a slow burn, character-driven mystery with very little action. I found it quite boring for the majority of the book. It jumps from multiple character POVs, and they were SO repetitive. It would often go back a couple hours to recount the new person's POV on the exact same time frame we just read about from someone else which made it read so slowly. The ending honestly infuriated me. I am completely fine with thrillers having ambiguous or non-HEA endings, but this one was just not necessary to get the same point across. So many characters deserved better and it makes me think this author's writing just won't be for me. I would hesitate to recommend this book to anyone.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
What you can expect:
Locust Lane is a slow burn, character-driven mystery with very little action. I found it quite boring for the majority of the book. It jumps from multiple character POVs, and they were SO repetitive. It would often go back a couple hours to recount the new person's POV on the exact same time frame we just read about from someone else which made it read so slowly. The ending honestly infuriated me. I am completely fine with thrillers having ambiguous or non-HEA endings, but this one was just not necessary to get the same point across. So many characters deserved better and it makes me think this author's writing just won't be for me. I would hesitate to recommend this book to anyone.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
What you can expect:
mohekki's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
akagle's review
3.0
I wanted this book to give me more than it did… I feel like books with multiple narrators can be done well, but it just was not in this case. It almost felt like the characters weren’t having the opportunity to be developed because it kept cutting to a different person each chapter. Also the big reveal of the killer.. meh, I saw it coming. A little bit of a snooze fest in my opinion…
bookishbree36's review
3.0
I love a good whodunnit mystery so this one definitely checked all my boxes! Twisty and turny and I never guessed the ending! Overall a very good mystery!
Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon books for the opportunity to read this one early in exchange for an honest review!
3/5 stars from me, Bookish Bree
Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon books for the opportunity to read this one early in exchange for an honest review!
3/5 stars from me, Bookish Bree
trisha_thomas's review
3.0
I'm so torn on this one! On one hand, I thought this was going to be a unputdownable thriller that would keep me on the edge of my seat. Instead, this is definitely more of a character study. And there are a lot of characters! Sure, it surrounds a crime and all the players connected to it in someway, but the mystery of who done it seemed lost in the character drama.
A few kids have a small party at a house in a small town (I assume it's small, the characers were so intertwined) and something happens. The next day, accusations are flying and in comes the adults. You have the POV of one wife, another wife, a witness, a mother. And these stories overlap in ways that aren't obvious at first. Slowly, you learn how they all interact and the different ways they will seek the truth. It was heartbreaking, at times, as you learned what each of them is hiding - because no one is telling the truth.
I think my favorite character was the attorney. He gave it straight and felt so realistic. And his fees!? WOW! Otherwise, I did like how this all played out but I wasn't prepared for it to feel as slow as it did.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
A few kids have a small party at a house in a small town (I assume it's small, the characers were so intertwined) and something happens. The next day, accusations are flying and in comes the adults. You have the POV of one wife, another wife, a witness, a mother. And these stories overlap in ways that aren't obvious at first. Slowly, you learn how they all interact and the different ways they will seek the truth. It was heartbreaking, at times, as you learned what each of them is hiding - because no one is telling the truth.
I think my favorite character was the attorney. He gave it straight and felt so realistic. And his fees!? WOW! Otherwise, I did like how this all played out but I wasn't prepared for it to feel as slow as it did.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
ashleysue75's review
3.0
I enjoyed the idea of this novel more than the execution. A story about small town secrets, characters who make questionable decisions, families with checkered histories…all components for a great read, but I felt it didn’t quite live up to its potential.
While the plot kept my interest, I found it difficult to connect with the characters. They were all flawed in a very human way, but their redeeming personality traits were not presented in a way that balanced out their negative ones.
The structure caused me to lose interest as well. While an alternating POV can be used to great effect when revealing different perspectives of the same situation, here it felt a bit redundant.
I also found the death of a main character about 2/3 of the way into the book to be a bit too convenient. I felt the author just wasn’t sure how to tidily wrap up this person’s storyline and found this was the easiest way to do so.
There were multiple important, relevant issues that were brought up in this storyline, but none were explored sufficiently to really alter the reader’s viewpoint.
My biggest problem with this novel, however, was that a character who was presented as someone to root for turned out to have committed a horrific act that was pathetically excused by some twisted form of peer pressure. Anyone who can pull a Brock Turner doesn’t deserve our empathy or a sympathetic spin.
There was much to keep the reader engaged in this novel, but I ultimately encountered too many issues to recommend it as a must-read.
My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for m honest feedback.
While the plot kept my interest, I found it difficult to connect with the characters. They were all flawed in a very human way, but their redeeming personality traits were not presented in a way that balanced out their negative ones.
The structure caused me to lose interest as well. While an alternating POV can be used to great effect when revealing different perspectives of the same situation, here it felt a bit redundant.
I also found the death of a main character about 2/3 of the way into the book to be a bit too convenient. I felt the author just wasn’t sure how to tidily wrap up this person’s storyline and found this was the easiest way to do so.
There were multiple important, relevant issues that were brought up in this storyline, but none were explored sufficiently to really alter the reader’s viewpoint.
My biggest problem with this novel, however, was that a character who was presented as someone to root for turned out to have committed a horrific act that was pathetically excused by some twisted form of peer pressure. Anyone who can pull a Brock Turner doesn’t deserve our empathy or a sympathetic spin.
There was much to keep the reader engaged in this novel, but I ultimately encountered too many issues to recommend it as a must-read.
My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for m honest feedback.
nsa101's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly had to sit with this book for a minute to collect my thoughts. At it's core, this is a slow burn, character driven novel about the lengths people will go to support and protect the ones they love. From the synopsis, I was definitely pulled in by the murder mystery aspect and while that was the premise of the book, this was more of a character study I would’ve liked more character development early on as there were a lot of characters to keep track of.
When I got to the middle, especially the 2nd half, the pacing sped up and I was invested to know how this story would end. I listened to the audiobook thanks to @macmillan.audio, which I enjoyed, especially due to the multiple POVs. It was interesting that we see the story through the parents’ eyes and not the teens themselves.
Overall if you like a slow burn mystery this would be a good one to pick up!
When I got to the middle, especially the 2nd half, the pacing sped up and I was invested to know how this story would end. I listened to the audiobook thanks to @macmillan.audio, which I enjoyed, especially due to the multiple POVs. It was interesting that we see the story through the parents’ eyes and not the teens themselves.
Overall if you like a slow burn mystery this would be a good one to pick up!