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betag1013's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual content, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Misogyny, Stalking, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Vomit, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
ladycranstonkc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Violence, Infidelity, and Infertility
Moderate: Body shaming and Physical abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Death, Cursing, Confinement, and Bullying
fkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Secondly, not one single character is likable or even decent as a human being. So I had no sympathy for any of them, and as a result, there was too much antipathy on my part to care about any of their plights.
Why was this book so popular and on so many must read lists? I’m annoyed at myself for having finished. Should’ve DNFd it.
Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Bullying, Infertility, Violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
neverlandpages4's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.0
- I was excited to read this because it’s what inspired many of the more recent thrillers like “The Woman in the Window” and “The Woman in Cabin 10” and the hundreds of other thrillers that have “woman” in the title. Unfortunately, this was one of the least thrilling and one of the least suspenseful books I’ve ever read.
- I should’ve known I wouldn’t like this because one of my least favorite tropes in thrillers is the alcoholic unreliable narrator. I quickly get tired and annoyed with the amount of times that drinking is mentioned and the main character constantly being confusing about the details of what might’ve or might’ve not happened.
- I was also really confused by the timeline. We follow 2 or 3 timelines that are leading up to each other but at the same time, they constantly switch to a random time and I just couldn’t keep track of it.
- Also, there’s the matter of the racist stereotypes and the wrong portrayal of Muslim characters.
- Part of me finds it hard to believe that this is the book that a lot of people were raving about years ago when it first came out. Same with the movie (which I won’t be watching now). It felt so mundane and predictable and not unique. If I hadn’t written my thoughts on the book as I was reading it, I wouldn’t have been able to write a review because I honestly remember nothing.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Racism, War, and Xenophobia
kayleyb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Grief, Child death, Fatphobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Violence
mecmccann'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
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Murder, Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, and Domestic abuse
farah_2007's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Addiction, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Infertility, Torture, Sexism, and Vomit
scruffie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement and Vomit
Minor: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Abandonment, and Animal cruelty
soundlysmitten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion, Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
katsbooks's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
“There’s nothing so painful, so corrosive, as suspicion.”
Usually I really don't like books with unlikable characters. I disliked Gone Girl and really hated We Need to Talk About Kevin, however, I somehow found myself rooting for Rachel. I think, perhaps, it's less that I don't enjoy unlikable characters as much as a I don't enjoy outrightly mean/selfish characters. I didn't like Rachel as a character but I found myself pitying her much more than disliking her and ultimately, I wanted her to figure out the who-dun-it and move on with her life. Speaking of the who-dun-it, I figured out the ending about half of the way through. However, I read this back when it came out about 6 years ago but I forgot almost everything. So I can't decide if I figured it out because I vaguely remembered the plot or because of the writing itself. Either way, I bumped up my rating to a 4 star from a 3.5 for that reason. It didn't seem fair to rate a book less because I had already read it. Overall, I think this book is a bit formulaic but really engaging. It's a solid thriller and I would recommend.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Confinement and Cursing
Minor: Body shaming, Car accident, Fatphobia, and Pregnancy