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_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infertility, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Child death
Minor: Death of parent
reahbee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was so much more than the suspenseful, slasher-y book I thought I was getting into (though it was that too.) A master class on how to end a story, with plenty of twists to keep you guessing.
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Gore, Alcoholism, Sexism, Gun violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Pandemic/Epidemic, Infertility, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, and Physical abuse
rafiniert's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Body horror, Vomit, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Infertility, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Child death and Sexism
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, and Mass/school shootings
alexisgarcia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
i absolutely loved No Exit by this author so i thought this had to be good. i think the premise is super interesting and different, but it fell short. while this was definitely tense and action-packed, it was almost too much. there was an absurd amount of twists and turns that weren’t executed well. it felt like the authors gun ran out of bullets so they just started throwing rocks. these twists were predictable while also feeling so unnecessary and overdone. also the ending??? what kind of hallmark/lifetime movie did this turn into at the end?
*slight spoiler****
also, if you’re an author and you’re writing a mystery or thriller and it is based around one of the main “villains” having a mental illness, just don’t???? this heavily perpetuates mental health stereotypes and stigmas, which simply aren’t true. this is so played out and just downright harmful and inaccurate.
Graphic: Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Grief, Miscarriage, Infertility, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts
kristiebringhurst's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Sexism
greatestheights's review against another edition
- 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
More spoilers from here on out, as I bravely dare to rate and review a thriller about a murderous writer going after the bored, grieving woman who roasted his book on Amazon. I too am bored and grieving, but this is Goodreads, and I promise not to be too mean.
Anyway.
I am once again absolutely begging thriller writers to please, for the love of God, stop writing villains with mental illness. It is not the fun plot device you think it is! I've known and cared for two people who have Howard's diagnosis, and it's not a goddamn punch line. People with mental illness are far more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators of it. Too, Howard's diagnosis was a red herring. It added nothing to his character except to perpetuate a bunch of gross stereotypes.
That aside, I enjoyed a lot of things about this book. It was entertaining, creepy, full of twists, and the aforementioned (alive!) dog should have been the narrator. I also spent a ton of time rolling my eyes, sending screenshots to my best friend demanding to know how there could be so many hours left in the audiobook by the fifth time I thought it surely had to be drawing to a close, and wondering how many more times Howard was going to bisect something.
This is just a PSA to all white ladies: If you smell synthetic butter around your remote rental house and think a shadowy figure is watching you sleep, do not pass go, do not collect whatever the fuck, do not CONTINUE BLITHELY LIVING IN THE HOUSE — just leave. Also, don't play Hangman with random old men who have telescopes. Also also, how did this genius astrophysicist warrior woman not know what Hangman was?!
A BIG TW BELOW:
tw tw tw tw infant loss!!!
Idk why I keep picking up books that have surprise infant loss plotlines, but lol, I keep finding them. The detail was particularly brutal, and even though I knew it was coming, I sobbed for the last hour of this book.
Lots of other stuff to say about the plot and characters and Emma's interesting range of choices, but I've truly gone on long enough and I'm still not sure how I want to rate it. Twoish stars because...*gestures broadly*
Taylor Adams, if you're reading this, please don't murder me with a katana.
Graphic: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Kidnapping, Gore, Vomit, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Infertility
Moderate: Bullying and Alcoholism
solenophage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Otherwise, it was a fun read. It was fast-paced and tense at the right moments, with a heroine that who, while not infallible, was clever and easy to root for. Despite the more outlandish elements, I was never fully taken out of the story and had a hard time putting it down.
Graphic: Child death, Car accident, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Gun violence, Infertility, Animal cruelty, Blood, Car accident, Gore, Mental illness, Grief, and Stalking
Minor: Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexism, and Suicide