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angelaac's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
reallyintoreading's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
bookishwithwine's review against another edition
5.0
My Thoughts
Augusta/Gus is back where she grew up after always moving around with her grifter boyfriend Lars. A run down house and Levi, a mutt on its last legs are left to her after her great grandma passes. With no family left, no real plans and no money Gus puts the house up for sale, but not before going through her grandma's things. In the basement she finds an old blue trunk she had when growing up. Inside the trunk are her mom's, Detective Shannon, old case files. Gus was told her mom died in a car accident, but the way it was explained seemed fishy. Then there is the fire that destroyed an entire town, the boy that went missing years ago whose remains were just found, millions of dollars missing, and the unsolved case that kept Gus's mom awake at night, Gracie Halladay.
This is one of those books that sucked me in and didn't spit me out until the very end. There are so many mysteries to solve including but not excluding how Gus's mom REALLY died! I loved the investigative work Gus did, and learning about the history of the town that was destroyed in the fire. Gus meets so many interesting people along the way. Some who help her solve the mysteries of the past, some who want her dead for trying to find out the truth, and some who follow Gus hoping she leads them to the missing money and then kill her.
The one thing that bothered me about Grace is that she trusts so easily. I would think that after being in a rocky relationship with someone like Lars, she would have her guard up more.
Nonetheless I flew through this book. So if you like trying to solve multiple mysteries and you enjoy suspenseful twists, this is the book for you! This one is out now!
Thank you Harper Collins Paperback for the #gifted copy!
Wine Pairing: Chateau de Santenay Mercurey 1er Cru Les Puillets 2016 Pinot Noir
Augusta/Gus is back where she grew up after always moving around with her grifter boyfriend Lars. A run down house and Levi, a mutt on its last legs are left to her after her great grandma passes. With no family left, no real plans and no money Gus puts the house up for sale, but not before going through her grandma's things. In the basement she finds an old blue trunk she had when growing up. Inside the trunk are her mom's, Detective Shannon, old case files. Gus was told her mom died in a car accident, but the way it was explained seemed fishy. Then there is the fire that destroyed an entire town, the boy that went missing years ago whose remains were just found, millions of dollars missing, and the unsolved case that kept Gus's mom awake at night, Gracie Halladay.
This is one of those books that sucked me in and didn't spit me out until the very end. There are so many mysteries to solve including but not excluding how Gus's mom REALLY died! I loved the investigative work Gus did, and learning about the history of the town that was destroyed in the fire. Gus meets so many interesting people along the way. Some who help her solve the mysteries of the past, some who want her dead for trying to find out the truth, and some who follow Gus hoping she leads them to the missing money and then kill her.
The one thing that bothered me about Grace is that she trusts so easily. I would think that after being in a rocky relationship with someone like Lars, she would have her guard up more.
Nonetheless I flew through this book. So if you like trying to solve multiple mysteries and you enjoy suspenseful twists, this is the book for you! This one is out now!
Thank you Harper Collins Paperback for the #gifted copy!
Wine Pairing: Chateau de Santenay Mercurey 1er Cru Les Puillets 2016 Pinot Noir
eh_reader's review against another edition
4.0
Dark August is a steady paced read riddled with clues for you to figure out as you go. Even with all the clues, there are still some big turns and creepy twists you don’t see coming. I did get a little frustrated with the convince of some events but it did not take away from the overall feel of the book. I enjoyed all the Ontario towns mentioned and Canadian items name dropped. Love when you can read a book set in Canada by a Canadian author.
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TW: Rape, Alcoholism, Death of a parent
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TW: Rape, Alcoholism, Death of a parent
liadanblue's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. The story itself wasn’t anything to write home about but I was invested in the characters (and the dog
jennrobyn's review against another edition
4.0
This book was pretty mediocre for me. I may have walked away from it had it not been a buddy read with a friend. There were lots of parts I was bored and felt like I was just waiting. Also, the author kept flipping back and forth between using the main characters full name and nickname and it always made me feel like there was a new character I was forgetting about.
I am thankful, in the end, that I didn't walk away because the ending turned out pretty stellar for me and quite redeeming in terms of my overall opinion of the book. There were some great twists in the last half that really did blow my mind.
The other things I did enjoy were the badass, strong willed female lead character, the ghost town atmosphere and the cold case file-true crime feel to the storyline.
If you like slow burn mysteries you'd probably really like this one! I just prefer my mysteries a little more fast paced and exciting all the way through.
I am thankful, in the end, that I didn't walk away because the ending turned out pretty stellar for me and quite redeeming in terms of my overall opinion of the book. There were some great twists in the last half that really did blow my mind.
The other things I did enjoy were the badass, strong willed female lead character, the ghost town atmosphere and the cold case file-true crime feel to the storyline.
If you like slow burn mysteries you'd probably really like this one! I just prefer my mysteries a little more fast paced and exciting all the way through.
readbysloan's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn't put this book down. It gripped me right from the start and I finished it in 2 sittings. A mystery set through small town Ontario, a daughter looking for the truth. Absolutely loved it.
kourtjohnstone's review against another edition
2.0
- the premise seemed great, following Gus around to find out what really happened to her mother. But she’s twenty and would not be given as much information as she was
- Slow burn with a lot of mundane happenings that could have been omitted
- Sentence structure seemed to be very forced and fragmented, making it very hard to read in print. It felt as if things were intentionally put write under our nose, but the author didn’t expect us to pick up on it… much like the main character (who is twenty and a tad oblivious)
- Overall, I wish there was ~200 pages less in this book, in hopes that it would be more concise and straight to the point. It would have kept my more engaged, instead of questioning whether I should DNF or not
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- Slow burn with a lot of mundane happenings that could have been omitted
- Sentence structure seemed to be very forced and fragmented, making it very hard to read in print. It felt as if things were intentionally put write under our nose, but the author didn’t expect us to pick up on it… much like the main character (who is twenty and a tad oblivious)
- Overall, I wish there was ~200 pages less in this book, in hopes that it would be more concise and straight to the point. It would have kept my more engaged, instead of questioning whether I should DNF or not
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