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carlabear's review against another edition
4.0
I did figure out what had happened a little prematurely, but the story itself was addicting.
litwithleigh's review against another edition
3.0
Writing: 4/5 | Plot: 3/5 | Ending: what in tf ????
THE PLOT
Famous Netflix doc, Making a Murderer + classic FBI procedural + a lil splish splash of everything else = Every Last Fear.
Matt is already struggling with his brother, Danny, being in jail for life for murdering his gf. But wait—how about the rest of your family being murdered in Mexico on vacation? Matt and the FBI dig into the murders of his family and Danny's past conviction to unravel the truth.
MY OPINION
I'm assuming this was inspired by the Making a Murderer doc? Correct me if I'm wrong. There are several parallels between the two, but enough differences as well (such as the whole family getting wiped out in Mexico).
Writing on point. Pacing on point. Intrigue on point. Ending....... on zero. This was a plane read and I was hooked from the start. (Poor Matt though, hope he gets free therapy for life). I wanted answers, but I didn't like them LOL.
OK I'M GOING TO WRITE ABOUT SOME SPOILERS SO THIS IS YOUR WARNING TO SCROLL FURIOUSLY TO THE END IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK.
Ok. Spoilers time. The whole Mexico thing was over the top. Why couldn't they be lured back to Nebraska where the mom already was? It seems extremely far-fetched that someone would intentionally lure a family to another country just to get rid of them. There's certainly easier ways to go about this. And even though this is fiction, the author didn't do a good enough job explaining WHY they needed to be killed in Mexico vs. a corn field in Nebraska.
Also.... I'm TIREDT of the motive being teenage/young college love from 20 years ago. Can you just MOVE ON already? Damn. Holding onto some lusty emotions from when your brain was underdeveloped and deciding to commit several 25-to-life felonies is played out. Pls come up with something new.
The ending was everything and the kitchen sink. We have a politician in a cover up because he knocked up a teen but also wanted to get rid of the husband of his high school sweetheart?? I'm confusion. We have two DL boys caught in the act who decide covering up a murder is less scary than coming out? We have sexual abuse and pedophilia. We have hit men. We have professional "fixers." We have financial crimes. We have sugar babies. Am I missing anything?
Despite the ending being extra, I'll definitely be reading more Finlay books.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: Good writing, good pacing, good mystery
Cons: Ending was doing way too much
THE PLOT
Famous Netflix doc, Making a Murderer + classic FBI procedural + a lil splish splash of everything else = Every Last Fear.
Matt is already struggling with his brother, Danny, being in jail for life for murdering his gf. But wait—how about the rest of your family being murdered in Mexico on vacation? Matt and the FBI dig into the murders of his family and Danny's past conviction to unravel the truth.
MY OPINION
I'm assuming this was inspired by the Making a Murderer doc? Correct me if I'm wrong. There are several parallels between the two, but enough differences as well (such as the whole family getting wiped out in Mexico).
Writing on point. Pacing on point. Intrigue on point. Ending....... on zero. This was a plane read and I was hooked from the start. (Poor Matt though, hope he gets free therapy for life). I wanted answers, but I didn't like them LOL.
OK I'M GOING TO WRITE ABOUT SOME SPOILERS SO THIS IS YOUR WARNING TO SCROLL FURIOUSLY TO THE END IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK.
Ok. Spoilers time. The whole Mexico thing was over the top. Why couldn't they be lured back to Nebraska where the mom already was? It seems extremely far-fetched that someone would intentionally lure a family to another country just to get rid of them. There's certainly easier ways to go about this. And even though this is fiction, the author didn't do a good enough job explaining WHY they needed to be killed in Mexico vs. a corn field in Nebraska.
Also.... I'm TIREDT of the motive being teenage/young college love from 20 years ago. Can you just MOVE ON already? Damn. Holding onto some lusty emotions from when your brain was underdeveloped and deciding to commit several 25-to-life felonies is played out. Pls come up with something new.
The ending was everything and the kitchen sink. We have a politician in a cover up because he knocked up a teen but also wanted to get rid of the husband of his high school sweetheart?? I'm confusion. We have two DL boys caught in the act who decide covering up a murder is less scary than coming out? We have sexual abuse and pedophilia. We have hit men. We have professional "fixers." We have financial crimes. We have sugar babies. Am I missing anything?
Despite the ending being extra, I'll definitely be reading more Finlay books.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: Good writing, good pacing, good mystery
Cons: Ending was doing way too much
calmcelebration9888's review against another edition
4.5
Really loved this book. It was very fast paced and the characters were interesting. The story is a man whose brother goes to jail for murdering his girlfriend. His father and sister are determined to prove his innocence and so they follow a lead to Mexico, there the mother, father, sister and brother are murdered. Matt is asked to go to Mexico to sign off to return the bodies. An FBI agent becomes involved, as it might relate to a money laundering scheme.
I cannot find any fault with this book. It was great. I took half a star off because I only give extraordinary books a perfect rating.
I cannot find any fault with this book. It was great. I took half a star off because I only give extraordinary books a perfect rating.
ktom13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
readwithdiana's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
paws42's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
readcharlotte's review against another edition
4.0
Reads like a true crime novel with multiple timelines and points of view. Murder mystery with little suspense.
Follows a young man whose family has just died on vacation after a documentary questioning the innocence of his older brother, serving time for murder, is released.
Follows a young man whose family has just died on vacation after a documentary questioning the innocence of his older brother, serving time for murder, is released.
crlopez2013's review against another edition
1.0
TW: Sexual assault, fatphobia, racism
The storyline itself sounds interesting but slow to unfold. I usually enjoy multiple POV's in books but there wasn't enough time with each character to really get to know them. There was way too much POV spent with the FBI agent, the most boring character in the book except perhaps the protagonist, Matt. I also found it hard to believe Matt's POV as someone who's entire family was just murdered. Everyone reacts differently to death, but he had no emotional spectrum at all besides periods of rage and superficial acts of grief. Just a poorly written character in my opinion.
The writing was really off-putting and there were a number of scenes about violence against women that served no purpose to the story. For example, Maggie experiences an attempted sexual assault at a party. Maybe the event is to add something more "interesting" to her character development, but it didn't add anything at all. Another part was an excerpt of the screenplay for the documentary where a serial killer is being interviewed. He says really gross things about his murders about how "smooth and young" his victims were. Again, this adds nothing to the story. Lastly, there was a line about a former psychiatrist at the prison who was "convicted of manipulating patients into blowing him." Theres another scene at the end of the book that I won't mention because of a spoiler, but the author is obsessed with sexual violence against women. Sus indeed.
Another issue I had was the pretty blatant racism and fatphobia sprinkled throughout. The nurse at an assisted living facility is repeatedly described as black and having a Jamaican accent, an unnecessary stereotype. Same with all of Matt's friends. And the depiction of the people in Mexico made it seem like theyre all dirty, poor, or dangerous. It's like the author tried to force "diversity" in the book for representation but did so in the most on-the-nose way and slightly offensive way possible.
There are lines in the book like "an obese man scuttled over" and "the flight attendant was a plump woman in a polyester uniform." "She was still the same, heavyset with eyes too far apart." I get that adding descriptors enhances the writing, but all the fat characters were written with a tone of disgust and disdain.
I read through this book quickly because I was frustrated with the pace. Kinda wish I hadn't read it though. Wouldn't recommend.
The storyline itself sounds interesting but slow to unfold. I usually enjoy multiple POV's in books but there wasn't enough time with each character to really get to know them. There was way too much POV spent with the FBI agent, the most boring character in the book except perhaps the protagonist, Matt. I also found it hard to believe Matt's POV as someone who's entire family was just murdered. Everyone reacts differently to death, but he had no emotional spectrum at all besides periods of rage and superficial acts of grief. Just a poorly written character in my opinion.
The writing was really off-putting and there were a number of scenes about violence against women that served no purpose to the story. For example, Maggie experiences an attempted sexual assault at a party. Maybe the event is to add something more "interesting" to her character development, but it didn't add anything at all. Another part was an excerpt of the screenplay for the documentary where a serial killer is being interviewed. He says really gross things about his murders about how "smooth and young" his victims were. Again, this adds nothing to the story. Lastly, there was a line about a former psychiatrist at the prison who was "convicted of manipulating patients into blowing him." Theres another scene at the end of the book that I won't mention because of a spoiler, but the author is obsessed with sexual violence against women. Sus indeed.
Another issue I had was the pretty blatant racism and fatphobia sprinkled throughout. The nurse at an assisted living facility is repeatedly described as black and having a Jamaican accent, an unnecessary stereotype. Same with all of Matt's friends. And the depiction of the people in Mexico made it seem like theyre all dirty, poor, or dangerous. It's like the author tried to force "diversity" in the book for representation but did so in the most on-the-nose way and slightly offensive way possible.
There are lines in the book like "an obese man scuttled over" and "the flight attendant was a plump woman in a polyester uniform." "She was still the same, heavyset with eyes too far apart." I get that adding descriptors enhances the writing, but all the fat characters were written with a tone of disgust and disdain.
I read through this book quickly because I was frustrated with the pace. Kinda wish I hadn't read it though. Wouldn't recommend.
jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
A debut thriller about a family made famous by a Netflix true crime documentary... After Danny Pine is put in prison for bludgeoning his girlfriend to death, the Pine family is put into the spotlight with a documentary made about the case. Danny's father and younger sister are tireless in the pursuit of truth and freeing Danny. A number of years later, Danny's younger brother Matt is attending college in NYC and is informed one night that his father, mother, sister and younger brother have been found dead from apparent carbon monoxide poisoning while on vacation in Mexico. Their deaths bring the Pine family back into the headlines. An FBI agent lets Matt know that she doesn't think their deaths were accidental. Matt starts to think that his family's deaths are related to Danny's case.
The novel shifts between multiple perspectives and moves back and forth in time. There are snippets from the documentary, Matt's perspective, the lead FBI agent and other members of The Pine family. This was a fast paced story offering up a lot of information that all coalesced in the end. There were lots of twists and action along the way. If you like thrillers, Alex Finlay is definitely an author to watch.
What to listen to while reading...
Numb by Linkin Park
Meet Me in the Woods by Lord Huron
Little Dark Age by MGMT
This Mess We're In by PJ Harvey & Thom Yorke
All I Think About Now by Pixies
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.
The novel shifts between multiple perspectives and moves back and forth in time. There are snippets from the documentary, Matt's perspective, the lead FBI agent and other members of The Pine family. This was a fast paced story offering up a lot of information that all coalesced in the end. There were lots of twists and action along the way. If you like thrillers, Alex Finlay is definitely an author to watch.
What to listen to while reading...
Numb by Linkin Park
Meet Me in the Woods by Lord Huron
Little Dark Age by MGMT
This Mess We're In by PJ Harvey & Thom Yorke
All I Think About Now by Pixies
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.
jourdanedwards's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75