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pawtuckawaykrm's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Domestic abuse
boop123'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? Yes
3.0
Unfortunately, this fell flat for me, especially the ending. It was anticlimactic; it left me dissatisfied. Not to mention, for a book that is marketed as a thriller novel, its contents touches more on the feminist aspect and how “miserable and trapped” women are because their husbands are incompetent. Although that premise is connected to the thriller plot, I expected the story to focus mainly on the housefire case rather than thoroughly exploring Nora’s (the MC) family and work life. I also don’t know if I should like Nora because as I progressed through the book, she was becoming unbearable 😭 so if that wasn’t the goal, then the author is doing a bad job of making me feel bad for her.
Anyway, take this review with a grain of salt because, like I said, I feel like I am not the target demographic for this.
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
frogglin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Meanwhile, a small community of happy families has a house available for sale should someone meet the high requirements of the HOA to purchase it. Nora is drawn in not just by the promise of a perfect suburban life in a beautiful home, but by a recent death in the community. As a lawyer, she finds herself promising to uncover the truth of what happened to Richard, and how he could have died in the housefire that left his wife grieving and living in a pool house.
The high powered community includes women working in medicine, psychology, real estate, charity - each one of them married to a doting and adoring husband and each husband more than taking on his fair share of the house hold chores and mental load.
It sounds like a dream, but there's a deep river of discomfort running through this novel.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death and Blood
Minor: Domestic abuse
martieliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Domestic abuse
sarah984's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Death, Alcohol, Blood, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Confinement, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Sexual content
Brainwashing/mind control contentbinreads'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
4.0
Get Out vibes for SUUUURE. The whole time I was thinking NORA GIRL COME ON YOU ARE SMART GET OUUUUUT OF THIS
the book didn’t really pick up until halfway through and i thought we could’ve gotten to the resolution a bit sooner so we could see the aftermath.
The last line HAUNTED ME.
I also feel like it dragged on the “accident” situation that happened to Liv. I don’t believe it really added anything to the narrative.
It was crazy to slowly uncover what was happening as a reader. When they were at therapy, and Cornelia kept clicking her pen: Click, Click, Click i was immediately like Didn’t Richard claim he was hearing clicking??? Are they brainwashing them?? AND I WAS RIGHT
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Trafficking, Sexism, and Torture
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Blood and Body horror
megj23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Pregnancy and Sexism
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent and Domestic abuse
oliviaclaire's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
I enjoyed some of the web blogs and news articles (including comments) used between chapters to highlight some of the issues plaguing women at work and at home and there were definitely moments when I felt for Nora in her relationship with her husband Hayden. Weaponised incompetence is a term that most definitely springs to mind... but overall this book just didn't stick the landing for me.
Part of the issue with the mystery element of the book is that it's quite obvious early on who is pulling the strings and who our villains are likely to be. Obviously, the wives must be doing something to their husbands to create this forward-thinking paradise and it just so happens that one of them is a psychologist and another a neurosurgeon. Points if you can guess who might be culpable... It's not exactly threading a lot of potential villains or plot twists into the mix.
The other issue is that Nora just isn't a likeable character. I feel for her predicament but she just bottles up all of her issues and then when her husband becomes a paragon of fatherly virtue at home she has no problem taking full advantage of the situation from the off and basically using him as the help. It's not even a slow tipping point from him pulling his weight and her seeing this as a pleasant change of pace before realising he's now gone too far. She's absolutely wrapped up in herself and ready to make the most of her own upgraded spouse.
As I said, strong premise and unique idea but lacked something in the execution that made it hard to feel for the characters or stay absorbed in the mystery.
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Domestic abuse
anneke_nie's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Domestic abuse
babayagaofficial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Kind of painfully white and hetero and upper-middle-class, but enjoyable in spite of it.
The few women of color felt really tokenistic to me — one Black, one East Asian, one South Asian, check, check, check! Does that have any effect on their lives or personalities at all? Nope!
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Gaslighting