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lampbee's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
Good :) Middle of the road mystery which was what I wanted / expected. The ending was a little too predictable and wasn’t all that satisfying but it was still good :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Gun violence
Detailed description of the death penalty and an execution that was an understandable downermarvsbooks's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved this book. My first by the author, and definitely won’t be the last!
I love books with a strong female protagonist who’s looking for answers, despite the tragedy she’s been through. This was exactly that.
The characters were reliable in their actions, and while I suspected the real villain early, it wasn’t because of anything they specifically did or said. When the villainy came to light, I was surprised along the way.
Overall, enough intrigue and mystery to keep me hooked! Not easy to do!
I love books with a strong female protagonist who’s looking for answers, despite the tragedy she’s been through. This was exactly that.
The characters were reliable in their actions, and while I suspected the real villain early, it wasn’t because of anything they specifically did or said. When the villainy came to light, I was surprised along the way.
Overall, enough intrigue and mystery to keep me hooked! Not easy to do!
swestlake's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
samran's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5. It was good! None of the twists were truly that twisty and it focused more on grief than other thrillers/mysteries do but overall it was entertaining and a solid read.
runningonwords415's review against another edition
2.0
I kept going back and forth on this rating, but ultimately, this dragged on too much for me for only being 270 pages. I figured out the culprit (sorta) around 20%, kinda forgot because a fling happened somewhere in the middle, and felt no urge to pick it back up for the last third of the book. Truly a rollercoaster. In the end, I don’t think I’d remember much of this plot or the characters, and there was an untimely death(s) that in the end felt too typical of a murder mystery.
Thank you Dutton for the gifted finished copy. All thoughts and reviews are my own.
Thank you Dutton for the gifted finished copy. All thoughts and reviews are my own.
readingwithmygoldens's review against another edition
3.0
This is my second book from the author (my first was The Familiar Dark) and I am sorry to say I am disappointed with her most recent release. I am grateful to have had access to two formats to read this book (print & audio) and I tried both because at first I wasn't getting into the audio, but the book didn't help much. I couldn't get invested in the story the way that I wanted to.
It's hard to write a proper review since I want to be vague to avoid spoilers, but some of the actions that MC made didn't quite make sense to me. I don't mind of slower paced mystery, but there wasn't enough along the way to keep me invested and the end left me kind of scratching my head.
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did and will be sure to check out the author's next book for sure, but this just didn't have enough in it for me to care much about what happened once I got there. I liked how the author covered grief and how that makes a lasting impact on all involved, but that was about it. Maybe the slower pace and cast of characters (all pretty unlikeable) made for the challenges I experienced, but it seems like a lot of other readers were left wanting more also.
Thanks so much to Dutton Books for the gifted finished copy and to prhaudio for the gifted audiobook.
Review Date: 07/24/2023
Publication Date: 07/25/2023
It's hard to write a proper review since I want to be vague to avoid spoilers, but some of the actions that MC made didn't quite make sense to me. I don't mind of slower paced mystery, but there wasn't enough along the way to keep me invested and the end left me kind of scratching my head.
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did and will be sure to check out the author's next book for sure, but this just didn't have enough in it for me to care much about what happened once I got there. I liked how the author covered grief and how that makes a lasting impact on all involved, but that was about it. Maybe the slower pace and cast of characters (all pretty unlikeable) made for the challenges I experienced, but it seems like a lot of other readers were left wanting more also.
Thanks so much to Dutton Books for the gifted finished copy and to prhaudio for the gifted audiobook.
Review Date: 07/24/2023
Publication Date: 07/25/2023