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ashjaywebb13's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.75
taylorgilronan's review
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
moominmama_11's review against another edition
2.0
1.5
Intriguing idea - woman goes back to home town after committing a terrible crime 30 years earlier, centred around a Victorian style asylum…
However, this did not live up to its promise.
The book is told in 3 parts - present day Marianne, teenage Marianne and the story of an older woman - now a member of the House of Lords - with whom their story is embroiled. The first 2 sections were dull as ditchwater and the crime element was really devoid of suspense and essentially told the story of her messy relationship with an ex. The story of the asylum was really interesting with the character of Helen Greenlaw much more complex and well drawn - a great novel could have focused on this.
Give this one a miss
Intriguing idea - woman goes back to home town after committing a terrible crime 30 years earlier, centred around a Victorian style asylum…
However, this did not live up to its promise.
The book is told in 3 parts - present day Marianne, teenage Marianne and the story of an older woman - now a member of the House of Lords - with whom their story is embroiled. The first 2 sections were dull as ditchwater and the crime element was really devoid of suspense and essentially told the story of her messy relationship with an ex. The story of the asylum was really interesting with the character of Helen Greenlaw much more complex and well drawn - a great novel could have focused on this.
Give this one a miss
klwpvfc's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
rikkileigh's review
dark
mysterious
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
nictans_001's review
dark
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? Yes
2.0
chloenreads97's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I had to push myself to read this book, I didn't connect with any characters and I didn't find it entertaining. It was slow to start, picked up more in Part 2 and 3.
bookerage's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
darcislibrary98's review
3.0
Marianne has a few secrets about her home town that she’d rather stay that way, a secret. But when her husband gives her the surprise of a second home in her home town, well past mistakes and relationships come to light.
This is a slow paced novel that once you get past the different perspectives of the characters and learn a little more about how there past, set their future, it gets interesting. As the story unravels, you get drawn into the lives of the characters and anxious how they all fit together.
This is a slow paced novel that once you get past the different perspectives of the characters and learn a little more about how there past, set their future, it gets interesting. As the story unravels, you get drawn into the lives of the characters and anxious how they all fit together.
draganaruzic's review
2.0
I really didn’t like this book. It was so hyped up and every chapter ended on a sort of cliffhanger and I stayed up reading this and trying to figure out what was going to happen and the ending was actually so disappointing. I also didn’t like the repetitiveness with Helen’s chapter, even though it was from her POV it was still so boring because not much was different from the first time it was told.