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dwinareads's review against another edition
4.0
This one is a slow burn in the first half, but once it gets going, it does NOT let up.
A definite thriller, but also kind of a horror story. I was almost bored the first third of the book, but I was intrigued by the premise — a missing girl found dead ten years later, a distraught mother, and suddenly there’s a new man in her life with a daughter who looks like the missing girl? It’s too coincidental to be a coincidence, and we’re left wondering wtf happened when the main character’s daughter disappeared. Well, the author tells a TALE, and it’s even darker than I imagined.
Once I got to the last 30% of the book, I could NOT put it down! The shocks just kept coming, creep factor up to 100, and even though I had pretty much figured out what happened, it was still exciting to read how it all played out.
Well written, twisted, heartbreaking, and filled with suspense. Not my favorite thriller ever, but a solid novel, and a fantastic psychological thriller.
I give it 3.75 stars.
A definite thriller, but also kind of a horror story. I was almost bored the first third of the book, but I was intrigued by the premise — a missing girl found dead ten years later, a distraught mother, and suddenly there’s a new man in her life with a daughter who looks like the missing girl? It’s too coincidental to be a coincidence, and we’re left wondering wtf happened when the main character’s daughter disappeared. Well, the author tells a TALE, and it’s even darker than I imagined.
Once I got to the last 30% of the book, I could NOT put it down! The shocks just kept coming, creep factor up to 100, and even though I had pretty much figured out what happened, it was still exciting to read how it all played out.
Well written, twisted, heartbreaking, and filled with suspense. Not my favorite thriller ever, but a solid novel, and a fantastic psychological thriller.
I give it 3.75 stars.
gromocake's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
eab7680's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-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
5.0
samies_book_nook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
5.0
lanaazl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
caseydelain's review against another edition
3.0
The story was good, but it was too slow for me. I started out reading on my Kindle, but I had to move on to the audiobook. Because I travel a lot, I have plenty of time to listen, and I find that the hardest to read books are easier to get through when I listen to them instead. That's the only way I could avoid the dreaded DNF.
lori_vols's review against another edition
4.0
The story itself is intriguing. However, the book has a very slow start, and the beginning feels very disconnected from the rest of the book. It also becomes fairly predictable. It is, however, a simple fast read that does hold your interest once the main characters meet.
clarklyn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I have a lot of feelings about this book. I devoured it for one. It kept me hooked from the very beginning and reminded me of Lovely Bones. There really wasn’t a twist in my opinion- it is pretty obvious who Poppy’s mother is even before the book spells it out for you. I think a real twist would have been Ellie living but maybe that is just me wanting her to have survived.
I was also very disturbed by the way Laurel talked about her other daughter, Hanna. “Laurel had never accepted Hanna as a consolation prize”…
”Laurel is about to say, Oh, she was much prettier than Hanna”…
”Hanna. Her middle child. The difficult one. The tiring one. The one she wouldn’t want to be stranded on a desert island with. And a terrible thought shot through her, so fast she barely registered it. It should be you missing and Ellie eating beans on toast.“
I mean what kind of mom thinks this way about her daughter? I understand she is grieving but it’s horrible. Extremely disturbing, IMO, and left unaddressed other than a half-ass voicemail apology.
It loses some serious points from me because I was disturbed by how Laurel talked and thought about her middle child and how the book never really addresses these thoughts. The ending was also very unsatisfying and lacked a feeling of justice.
I was also very disturbed by the way Laurel talked about her other daughter, Hanna. “Laurel had never accepted Hanna as a consolation prize”…
”Laurel is about to say, Oh, she was much prettier than Hanna”…
”Hanna. Her middle child. The difficult one. The tiring one. The one she wouldn’t want to be stranded on a desert island with. And a terrible thought shot through her, so fast she barely registered it. It should be you missing and Ellie eating beans on toast.“
I mean what kind of mom thinks this way about her daughter? I understand she is grieving but it’s horrible. Extremely disturbing, IMO, and left unaddressed other than a half-ass voicemail apology.
It loses some serious points from me because I was disturbed by how Laurel talked and thought about her middle child and how the book never really addresses these thoughts. The ending was also very unsatisfying and lacked a feeling of justice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Pregnancy, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty
ashcrayola's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
great quick read. read it within 4-5 days. only downside was it was beyond predictable. the ‘plot mystery’ was revealed 1/3 into the book.