Scan barcode
atisha27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Minor: Child death, Death, and Body horror
o_holynight's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Death and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
cmcvachon003's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Murder
Moderate: Stalking
taliatalksbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
pookiee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
it is deeper than the average thriller, at least. the author believes in the reformation of criminals, but what happens in this book didnโt help that point
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Stalking
Minor: Vomit, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
aoliv__25's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Quick read with twists you can be ahead on whilst reliving COVID. If you like a genuinely good plot twist, a true thriller, developed characters or artful writing, skip.
Clearly this book divides people. I liked the premise, the Dublin setting and not much else. The writing style is very basic; there's nothing skillful about the prose, which makes it accessible but personally I found it dull. I had no investment in the detective chapters (could have been cut), and very little in the MC's, individually or intertwined. I was praying their characters would go somewhere more complex than I was guessing when the backstory started to be discussed, but unfortunately was correct in my predictions and therefore unshocked by the twists. The different POV's using word-for-word repetition felt tedious and lazy, and it seemed unable to create the desired intimacy effect due to the choice of third person narrative to do it - idk it just felt clunky. With the book feeling about 100 pages too long, the repetition really should have been cut in edits. The tension also felt pretty low throughout. For me, this is crime, not a thriller. Overall, I'd recommend reading the full synopsis rather than the actual book.
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, Child death, Gore, Stalking, and Child abuse
amris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Blood, Child death, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Suicide, and Grief
vj_thompson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Bullying, Murder, and Child death
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
olivemason's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death and Blood
minimicropup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Excellent narration and character voicing. Paired with the writing it felt cinematic.
Atmosphere: ๐ซถ
Well-balanced sensory and observational details paired with MC interpretations
-Set in IRL Dublin early 2020. The pandemic isn't centre stage; it's happening around the characters but we do experience the mixture of anxiety, surrealism, and novelty that it brings to their lives. No graphic descriptions of COVID suffering or politics (but the seriousness of it isn't ignored either).
Main POVs: ๐
-An intelligent, competent, but slightly rattled Detective Inspector at the scene of a body found under mysterious conditions in an apartment bathroom
-A slightly overwhelmed 25-yr old web service concierge and recent arrival in Dublin. They have a bit of social anxiety and are living in a small studio apartment when they stumble into a conversation with a person they've noticed from their daily lunch stops
-A 29-yr old architectural technologist also recently arrived in Dublin. They are living in a company-provided apartment and start a conversation with a person they've noticed from their daily lunch stops who seems to share their interest in space tech
Show'n'tell: ๐
Well-balanced with a few hiccups. Like bringing a crayon set to a virtual Teams class. A bit of stuttering and repetition, but it's a cool crayon set and unconventional medium so the ๐ are genuine.
Cred Rating: ๐๐ต๏ธ Plausible
True crime type with realistic police investigation and conclusions. The spark that starts everything in motion needed a lot to line up for it to happen and if even one thing was off the story technically wouldn't exist, but that's still realistic.
Reading Journey: ๐
Binge-watching YouTube and Netflix + take-out splurges with your bestie.
Good match if you like:
-Who? How? Why? Murder Mysteries
-Fractured timelines. Each chapter varies from today to ~70 days, ~50 days, ~20 days ago and are arranged non-chronologically.
-Multiple POV of same event narrations (bit repetitive at the time, but by the ending I saw why it was done and it didn't bother me)
-Mixed bag of twists and reveals (one "twist" at ~60-70% mark will probably be more of a reveal to some readers, but there are a few more twists to come and I didn't predict the last one)
-Slight touch of enemies-to-lovers romance
-Sprinkling of revenge trope
Vibes: ๐๐ท๐คซ
Format: Library audiobook via Libby
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Medical content and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Medical content refers to the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have delayed or DNFed a few pandemic plots because it was too-much-too-soon for me, however, it wasn't an issue for me in this plot. There are no graphic depictions of specific COVID cases or deaths. Death is described by police officers finding a body that has been decomposing. Murder is child-on-child