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pageturningaj's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I finished A Slow Fire Burning a few days ago, but I needed it to sit before I could actually write this review. I do have to agree that I really loved The Girl on the Train a lot more than this book, but there are still good qualities in this one.
Daniel Sutherland is found dead on his houseboat and the three women that surround his life all come into question. There is Laura, a troubled one-night-stand last seen in his home. Carla, his grief-stricken aunt, who is also mourning the death of Daniel’s mother. And Miriam the nosy next-door neighbor who seems to know just about everything that goes on in town. The secrets start to become too much and the true mystery unfolds.
I did enjoy this book, I won’t say that I didn’t because I did. I will agree with other reviews that I have seen that there are a lot….and I do mean A LOT of characters introduced within the first few chapters. I was a tad bit confused for a small portion of the book, but the characters all tie in with the main plot, and once they are all introduced it isn’t hard to decipher who each of them is. Just like the title of the book states this really was a slow-burn novel. The intricacies of the story and how everyone connected to Daniel were written so well. Now, what I didn’t like so much and I went into a deeper conversation with @theopinionatedreader and @readswithyenny about this was the story within a story. I understood what the significance of it was, but I felt like it really did nothing for the main plot. The way that was tied up was just sloppy and I really did not like it at all. I understand the ending, but there was added confusion that just did not need to be added in my opinion.
Overall, I liked reading this book. I was reading it as part of the #SteamandScreamBookClub and I cannot wait to discuss it with the group, but I was also reading it with my friends too! We all have similar opinions of it. It was a solid novel, but there were too many added things that just degraded some of the plot line.
TW: Animal cruelty/death, Young child death.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟.5/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Child death
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, and Sexual assault
nikkiknovy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The premise was good. I can see myself liking the story had it been told/written differently.
I have heard a lot of people talk about unlikeable characters/ bad people and how this knocks their rating of books down. That is not the case for me. These types of persons in novels overall do not bother me. I believe that the majority of unlikeable characters illuminate a kernel of truth about the human experience. They share dark thoughts and behave in ways that we deem unacceptable at a societal level. The truth is that most humans have these horrible thoughts. Most people have thought or done things they are not proud of, that they hope no one finds out, that would send them running for the hills if mind readers were real. Additionally, what stories would we read if people were perfect?!
That being said...the actions of the unlikable characters in this novel did not seem believable, not the large actions like the murder that the story is centered around, but small actions, the actions the are supposed to help tell the story and develop the characters. I did not connect or care about the characters (except for Irene - loved her kindness and candid communication throughout). I think this was largely to do with the unbelievability of their actions. Ultimately, I think this and a lack of suspense throughout is why this story failed to grab me. I was bored. I forced myself to not DNF because it was a book club pick.
I'm hugely disappointed as this is my first Paula Hawkins novel. I still have plans to read her other novels.
I have heard a lot of people talk about unlikeable characters/ bad people and how this knocks their rating of books down. That is not the case for me. These types of persons in novels overall do not bother me. I believe that the majority of unlikeable characters illuminate a kernel of truth about the human experience. They share dark thoughts and behave in ways that we deem unacceptable at a societal level. The truth is that most humans have these horrible thoughts. Most people have thought or done things they are not proud of, that they hope no one finds out, that would send them running for the hills if mind readers were real. Additionally, what stories would we read if people were perfect?!
That being said...the actions of the unlikable characters in this novel did not seem believable, not the large actions like the murder that the story is centered around, but small actions, the actions the are supposed to help tell the story and develop the characters. I did not connect or care about the characters (except for Irene - loved her kindness and candid communication throughout). I think this was largely to do with the unbelievability of their actions. Ultimately, I think this and a lack of suspense throughout is why this story failed to grab me. I was bored. I forced myself to not DNF because it was a book club pick.
I'm hugely disappointed as this is my first Paula Hawkins novel. I still have plans to read her other novels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
yo_tdo's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Animal death
dreamfyre's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Kidnapping, Murder, and Ableism
Minor: Infertility, Incest, and Fatphobia
vzrivera's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Dark. Thrilling. Suspenseful. Creepy. A few twist and turns thrown in. There's so many moving parts to this story. It was difficult to keep track of the various perspectives. The story focused on 10 women, 4 of which narrate. Plus there's a novel and a memoir that runs parallel to the story. How the author kept track of it all is beyond me. I had to get the eBook just to back track. Which was actually very helpful because the book includes a map which of course you don't get with the audiobook. The map was very helpful. I'm very impress by the authors writing abilities. I can see this book being turned into a movie someday.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcoholism, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood, Dementia, and Incest
kalynreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty and Incest
beccic's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I really enjoyed the way these characters lives all interlinked but this one just wasn’t really for me. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of people I would still recommend it too. The writing is good, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters, and so wasn’t really chomping at the bit to find out who killed Daniel and why they did it. I found this one a bit predictable and I could see all the plot twists coming so there was no surprise element in this for me… and I loved a good surprise or shock ending especially in thrillers.
I would still say this is a good book, unfortunately is was just a bit meh for me.
I would still say this is a good book, unfortunately is was just a bit meh for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty
gillimiller's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Suicide attempt, Child death, and Death
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