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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
She did something different here, and I'll be thinking about it for a while.
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
August is not an audiobook month for me.
I chose to stop listening to this one because I didn’t want to dissect this story. I feel like it’s one that deserves to be laid out, listened to carefully, given attention. Not something I was willing to provide it at this time. Some things that didn’t help to draw me in: unreliable narrator, multiple varying storylines, and gray characters.
I chose to stop listening to this one because I didn’t want to dissect this story. I feel like it’s one that deserves to be laid out, listened to carefully, given attention. Not something I was willing to provide it at this time. Some things that didn’t help to draw me in: unreliable narrator, multiple varying storylines, and gray characters.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Daaaaamn this book was so freaking good. Yesterday was my birthday (happy birthday to me lol) and I basically spent the day devouring it.
It’s actually crazy how many topics it takes on AND handles them with the complexity they deserve. Let’s see, we’ve got: trial by media, true crime tropes, the long-term effects of bullying, how differently things can see as an adult when compared to how they seemed as a kid, social media sleuthing/stalking, being someone with barely any fame who gets canceled, is canceling even real?, those callout posts that never seem to get to a smoking gun, racism in the law enforcement system, misogyny in the law enforcement system, trying to be a mentor to people in a generation that seems fundamentally different from you in so many ways, ambiguous loss, the way people roll their eyes and feel really clever when they say “oh but they always think it’s the husband that did it” with the implication it’s stupid to look at the victim’s intimate partner even though it really is often then, people with small YouTube accounts who fixate on a case, etc etc
There’s really so much in here and somehow the author makes it all weave together so naturally. It helps that characters are all wonderfully fleshed out. I won’t say all of them are complex because they can’t all be …but no one was a caricature, nearly everyone who was onscreen made me go “oh, interesting!” The plot has a similar quality. It often zigs when I thought it was going to zag.
I suspect this is a book that’s going to get an average ranking that settles around 3.5-3.7. This is because it’s marketed as a thriller when it really … isn’t, imo. The mystery is interesting but this is less a thrilling nail biter adventure and more a character study about being someone left in the wreckage after a murder that had unanswered questions. It’s also about being a deeply imperfect but well meaning person left in that wreckage and how the media/true crime narratives can flatten you out into archetypes or a handful of moments on a grainy vhs tape. If that sounds like it’s your jam I really do recommend it. If it gives you pause because you wanted a more standard domestic thriller…. I’d still recommend it to you. If you’ve read enough of the genre (as I have) you might find yourself pleasantly surprised at the way it subverts some of the tropes.
It’s actually crazy how many topics it takes on AND handles them with the complexity they deserve. Let’s see, we’ve got: trial by media, true crime tropes, the long-term effects of bullying, how differently things can see as an adult when compared to how they seemed as a kid, social media sleuthing/stalking, being someone with barely any fame who gets canceled, is canceling even real?, those callout posts that never seem to get to a smoking gun, racism in the law enforcement system, misogyny in the law enforcement system, trying to be a mentor to people in a generation that seems fundamentally different from you in so many ways, ambiguous loss, the way people roll their eyes and feel really clever when they say “oh but they always think it’s the husband that did it” with the implication it’s stupid to look at the victim’s intimate partner even though it really is often then, people with small YouTube accounts who fixate on a case, etc etc
There’s really so much in here and somehow the author makes it all weave together so naturally. It helps that characters are all wonderfully fleshed out. I won’t say all of them are complex because they can’t all be …but no one was a caricature, nearly everyone who was onscreen made me go “oh, interesting!” The plot has a similar quality. It often zigs when I thought it was going to zag.
Spoiler
And example of this is the time skip! It was fascinating to me that the students did manage to find some new evidence and then we got to see THEM as adults too. I think most narratives that went this route would have everything take place in a week. This one meanwhile explored the impact on this case over time on the gen z student characters as well as the 90s students. This is just one aspect of the book where it surprised me.I suspect this is a book that’s going to get an average ranking that settles around 3.5-3.7. This is because it’s marketed as a thriller when it really … isn’t, imo. The mystery is interesting but this is less a thrilling nail biter adventure and more a character study about being someone left in the wreckage after a murder that had unanswered questions. It’s also about being a deeply imperfect but well meaning person left in that wreckage and how the media/true crime narratives can flatten you out into archetypes or a handful of moments on a grainy vhs tape. If that sounds like it’s your jam I really do recommend it. If it gives you pause because you wanted a more standard domestic thriller…. I’d still recommend it to you. If you’ve read enough of the genre (as I have) you might find yourself pleasantly surprised at the way it subverts some of the tropes.
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ugh i should have dropped this as soon as the author introduced an israeli character