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renpuspita'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Quiet in Her Bones is the first time I read book by Nalini Singh that written from 1st PoV and male MC at that. Definitely out of her usual books since I'm a fans of her Guild Hunter series, follow Psy-Changeling series (need to do a complete reread since I stop in Kaleb's book) and try to read her Rockstar series but found it is not to my liking. Quiet in Her Bones also her first thriller book that I try to read.
Honestly, from the vibes and story tones alone, Quiet is pretty much like Guild Hunter. Dysfunctional family and gritty environment that surrounded by a mystery. In contrast, if Guild Hunter is filled with fantasy settings, Quiet happen in your usual urban area with rich people that hide their scandals and malicious intents. Our narrator, Aarav Rai is an example of unreliable story teller, a self diagnosed sociopath that slowly succumb to uncertainty and become unhinged days by days while try to solve the mystery behind his mother's disappearance. Who's the killer of Nina Rai? Is it her husband, Ishaan Rai, a respectable CEO that she had toxic relationship with? One of their rich neighbor? A secretary that Ishaan banged at that time when Nina disappear and want to get Nina out from the house to become the next Mrs Rai? A close friend of Nina that decide to betray her? Or maybe, Aarav himself? Aarav, a devoted son with love and hate relationship for a mother that so clear live to her own way but become bitter through her marriage. Aarav, a multi-sensational thriller writer with a book that turned into movie, a book about a mother killed. Aarav, a man that found his brain slowly succumb to madness unknown, unhinged, filled with rage and uncertainty of his memories when his mother flee from their home 10 years ago because his brain decided to mess with him.
The start of this book is pretty slow and the introduction of Aarav neighbor in the rich community, the Cul-de-Sac, can be pretty confusing. I feel difficult to memorize who is who, since Aarav know them all and begin to suspect is one of them a culprit responsible for his mother's death. The ensemble cast remind me of Agatha Christie's mysteries that also have big cast in which if you don't focused enough, you will get lost. The things is, I can't help to compare Quiet's big casts to another Nalini's series. I can remember all of the member of Cadre of Ten and their territories, maybe because I'm curious about them and want to know more. But, in case of Aarav's neighbor, doctors or his ex-gf, I just got lost. I don't feel these want to connect with them. Maybe, this is deliberate, since I can feel Aarav's aloofness and his unhinged characterization so I don't feel this closeness to other characters. Sometimes I feel like the characters introduction in the start of the book will help me to memorize the characters.
The mystery while solid, its conclusion in the end feel pretty easy although still enjoyable to read. I appreciate Nalini Singh to throw some red herring in order to make the mystery not that easy to predict. All Aarav's neighbors hide their scandals closed to themselves, only to be peeled layer by layer later, following the story. Aarav himself is not that likable but I can understand him. I mean, he's not that bad and I still enjoy his voice. Some of the revelation regarding about his relationship with his mother, his father, and his ex-GF is pretty shocking and I think it's work because of the 1st PoV and the fact that Aarav can't be trusted that much. There's a tongue-in-cheek part about Aarav burn bad review about his book, rather than he confront the reviewer itself. I just chuckling and wondering if Nalini also do it herself? While the story feel unsettling and chilling, I like that Nalini still try to write Aarav as a big brother figure to his step-sister, Pari and also have a good relationship with his step-mother, Shanti. If you search for romance, I'm afraid, there's none.
Quiet in Her Bones is Nalini's first thriller (and there's no romance too!) that I had read and I will check out her other thriller as well. Although, this book have so many trigger warning (like toxic relationship and domestic abuses), so you might want to read this one with cautions.
Honestly, from the vibes and story tones alone, Quiet is pretty much like Guild Hunter. Dysfunctional family and gritty environment that surrounded by a mystery. In contrast, if Guild Hunter is filled with fantasy settings, Quiet happen in your usual urban area with rich people that hide their scandals and malicious intents. Our narrator, Aarav Rai is an example of unreliable story teller, a self diagnosed sociopath that slowly succumb to uncertainty and become unhinged days by days while try to solve the mystery behind his mother's disappearance. Who's the killer of Nina Rai? Is it her husband, Ishaan Rai, a respectable CEO that she had toxic relationship with? One of their rich neighbor? A secretary that Ishaan banged at that time when Nina disappear and want to get Nina out from the house to become the next Mrs Rai? A close friend of Nina that decide to betray her? Or maybe, Aarav himself? Aarav, a devoted son with love and hate relationship for a mother that so clear live to her own way but become bitter through her marriage. Aarav, a multi-sensational thriller writer with a book that turned into movie, a book about a mother killed. Aarav, a man that found his brain slowly succumb to madness unknown, unhinged, filled with rage and uncertainty of his memories when his mother flee from their home 10 years ago because his brain decided to mess with him.
The start of this book is pretty slow and the introduction of Aarav neighbor in the rich community, the Cul-de-Sac, can be pretty confusing. I feel difficult to memorize who is who, since Aarav know them all and begin to suspect is one of them a culprit responsible for his mother's death. The ensemble cast remind me of Agatha Christie's mysteries that also have big cast in which if you don't focused enough, you will get lost. The things is, I can't help to compare Quiet's big casts to another Nalini's series. I can remember all of the member of Cadre of Ten and their territories, maybe because I'm curious about them and want to know more. But, in case of Aarav's neighbor, doctors or his ex-gf, I just got lost. I don't feel these want to connect with them. Maybe, this is deliberate, since I can feel Aarav's aloofness and his unhinged characterization so I don't feel this closeness to other characters. Sometimes I feel like the characters introduction in the start of the book will help me to memorize the characters.
The mystery while solid, its conclusion in the end feel pretty easy although still enjoyable to read. I appreciate Nalini Singh to throw some red herring in order to make the mystery not that easy to predict. All Aarav's neighbors hide their scandals closed to themselves, only to be peeled layer by layer later, following the story. Aarav himself is not that likable but I can understand him. I mean, he's not that bad and I still enjoy his voice. Some of the revelation regarding about his relationship with his mother, his father, and his ex-GF is pretty shocking and I think it's work because of the 1st PoV and the fact that Aarav can't be trusted that much. There's a tongue-in-cheek part about Aarav burn bad review about his book, rather than he confront the reviewer itself. I just chuckling and wondering if Nalini also do it herself? While the story feel unsettling and chilling, I like that Nalini still try to write Aarav as a big brother figure to his step-sister, Pari and also have a good relationship with his step-mother, Shanti. If you search for romance, I'm afraid, there's none.
Quiet in Her Bones is Nalini's first thriller (and there's no romance too!) that I had read and I will check out her other thriller as well. Although, this book have so many trigger warning (like toxic relationship and domestic abuses), so you might want to read this one with cautions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Medical content, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Suicide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Animal death, Drug abuse, Car accident, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and Cancer
leahkarge's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Misogyny, and Murder
wonderfulxwonderful's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
sarahaf712's review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Infidelity
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
lilifane's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Soooo, how do I bribe Nalini Singh to stop writing Romance and focus on Thrillers? Because I really need more of this.
It seemed so simple and straight forward at the beginning and developed into this huge, confusing mess, and I loved every bit of it. I kept guessing, and I kept second-guessing, and for me the conclusion was really satisfying. It is a very slow-paced book with a huge cast of characters, but the writing was so good, it kept me hooked until the very last page. Loved the diversity and the setting in New Zealand, specifically in this secluded rich people neighborhood where everyone is keeping secrets. The interactions between the neighbors gave me life, and the protagonist was... something!
It's probably too much to ask for a mini series adaptation? It's just so many of those scenes were SO vivid, I could practically see them played out in my head.
It seemed so simple and straight forward at the beginning and developed into this huge, confusing mess, and I loved every bit of it. I kept guessing, and I kept second-guessing, and for me the conclusion was really satisfying. It is a very slow-paced book with a huge cast of characters, but the writing was so good, it kept me hooked until the very last page. Loved the diversity and the setting in New Zealand, specifically in this secluded rich people neighborhood where everyone is keeping secrets. The interactions between the neighbors gave me life, and the protagonist was... something!
It's probably too much to ask for a mini series adaptation? It's just so many of those scenes were SO vivid, I could practically see them played out in my head.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Dementia, Drug use, and Homophobia
ncoletti's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Infidelity, and Drug use
thebakerbookworm's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Things I liked:
- diverse cast of characters, connected together by living in the same neighborhood
- New Zealand setting
- short chapters
- questioning everything and everyone
- the twists at the end
- Pari
Things I didn't like:
- all the characters except for Pari
- takes a while to remember who is who, because there are so many characters (even by the end, a name would be mentioned and I would think, "Wait who was that again?")
- the pacing felt off to me in places (there would be a tension-filled moment and then the next chapter would act like that moment hadn't just happened)
- the ending felt rushed; nothing was happening and then a lot happened in the span of a few pages and then it was done
Overall, a decent mystery that kept me guessing, but the unlikable characters and lack of any real character development kept me from rating this higher.
- diverse cast of characters, connected together by living in the same neighborhood
- New Zealand setting
- short chapters
- questioning everything and everyone
- the twists at the end
- Pari
Things I didn't like:
- all the characters except for Pari
- takes a while to remember who is who, because there are so many characters (even by the end, a name would be mentioned and I would think, "Wait who was that again?")
- the pacing felt off to me in places (there would be a tension-filled moment and then the next chapter would act like that moment hadn't just happened)
- the ending felt rushed; nothing was happening and then a lot happened in the span of a few pages and then it was done
Overall, a decent mystery that kept me guessing, but the unlikable characters and lack of any real character development kept me from rating this higher.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicide, Murder, Medical content, Infidelity, Drug use, Cursing, and Animal death
kbergsten's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
cursedepub's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Quiet in Her Bones is an enjoyable and suspenseful read, but ultimately isn't very fulfilling. The prose is great - tense and action-packed, while providing a lot of emotional appeal and insight into main character Aarav's personal psyche, and the book is populated with the perfect cast of dramatic, trashy, filthy rich people that make for the most fun mysteries and thrillers. It starts off strong and the pace picks up very nicely, but towards the end I was beginning to grow impatient with the almost never-ending addition of new possibilities to explore and how nothing we had previously discovered seemed to be coming together. The final reveal of the culprit and of the circumstances of Nina Rai's disappearance and death was very unsatisfying for me, and the way it was all hinged on a completely different disappearance and death came off as cheap and sloppy. I think more should have been done to establish the connection earlier in the novel, rather than spending time on points and hints that would eventually fade away or not end up particularly important.
One thing that definitely detracted from my enjoyment of the novel is how egregious the sexually objectifying male gaze was in the narration. I think genuinely every woman above the age of 18 in the novel was described in terms of her sexuality and/or physical attributes, to a degree I found gross and uncomfortable.
One thing that definitely detracted from my enjoyment of the novel is how egregious the sexually objectifying male gaze was in the narration. I think genuinely every woman above the age of 18 in the novel was described in terms of her sexuality and/or physical attributes, to a degree I found gross and uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Misogyny, Medical content, Infidelity, Death of parent, Child abuse, Animal death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Drug use
katiemack's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I've only read Nalini Singh's romances, so I was intrigued when I saw she had written a thriller (not my typical genre, but I've greatly enjoyed some). Singh's writing shines through, as usual; I always love her descriptions and some of the snarky dialogue she writes. I also enjoyed getting to know the side characters in the Cul-de-Sac as their lives become increasingly more interwoven and secretive.
The toughest aspect to get used to was the pacing--the way Singh reveals information to the reader was tough for me to handle. Aspects and detailed were doled out piecemeal, and while I detest the word-vomit exposition style of some novelists, this was almost as bad. I felt like I didn't have a great grasp on Aarav's family, especially his mother, or even Aarav himself. The ending felt rushed as well, which was frustrating.
If you're a big fan of thrillers, though, I'd give this one a try. It also features diverse characters, which is a plus.
The toughest aspect to get used to was the pacing--the way Singh reveals information to the reader was tough for me to handle. Aspects and detailed were doled out piecemeal, and while I detest the word-vomit exposition style of some novelists, this was almost as bad. I felt like I didn't have a great grasp on Aarav's family, especially his mother, or even Aarav himself. The ending felt rushed as well, which was frustrating.
If you're a big fan of thrillers, though, I'd give this one a try. It also features diverse characters, which is a plus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Car accident, and Drug use
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