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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another good suspense/mystery novel from Catherine Ryan Howard.
A fine serial killer story that spans from a young woman's first year of college life to the present day when the convicted killer requests to speak to her regarding murders that have begun again. Oh, and he's her ex-boyfriend.
While it didn't quite hit the five star mark for me, as Distress Signals did, it was still a very strong four stars.
A few years ago I had begun to shun the genre that I loved: psychological suspense. After the exquisite Gone Girl, it seemed that publishers needed that quality from subsequent novels, the twistyer the better. And it got ridiculous. The straw that finally broke my back was The Silent Patient, that used such a cheap method to achieve its required twist. I felt cheated as a reader and if that novel hadn't been in my beloved Kindle, I would have thrown it against the wall.
What I enjoy so much about Catherine Ryan Howard is that her stories are very well thought out, her prose and dialogue flow very nicely, and most importantly, she does not incorporate outlandish or implausible twists to resolve her stories. They may be domino effect of events or simply bad luck but they are all believable. This is why I keep coming back to her again and again. This is the fourth novel I have read from her and every time I have felt nicely satisfied with her storytelling. She has become a favorite of mine.
So despite the four star rating (which is still really good!), I highly recommend it and all the others I have read from her. A great way to end the reading year.
A fine serial killer story that spans from a young woman's first year of college life to the present day when the convicted killer requests to speak to her regarding murders that have begun again. Oh, and he's her ex-boyfriend.
While it didn't quite hit the five star mark for me, as Distress Signals did, it was still a very strong four stars.
A few years ago I had begun to shun the genre that I loved: psychological suspense. After the exquisite Gone Girl, it seemed that publishers needed that quality from subsequent novels, the twistyer the better. And it got ridiculous. The straw that finally broke my back was The Silent Patient, that used such a cheap method to achieve its required twist. I felt cheated as a reader and if that novel hadn't been in my beloved Kindle, I would have thrown it against the wall.
What I enjoy so much about Catherine Ryan Howard is that her stories are very well thought out, her prose and dialogue flow very nicely, and most importantly, she does not incorporate outlandish or implausible twists to resolve her stories. They may be domino effect of events or simply bad luck but they are all believable. This is why I keep coming back to her again and again. This is the fourth novel I have read from her and every time I have felt nicely satisfied with her storytelling. She has become a favorite of mine.
So despite the four star rating (which is still really good!), I highly recommend it and all the others I have read from her. A great way to end the reading year.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Will is 10 years into his life sentence for his crimes as "The Canal Killer" when Gardaí suspect that a young girl found in the canal is the work of a copycat.
Alison has spent 10 years building a life for herself in the Netherlands and trying desperately to forget about the life she left behind when she receives a request to return home to help with the investigation.
Catherine Ryan Howard did an excellent job with this psychological thriller. Told from different points of view over dual timelines everyone's a suspect as the story unfolds.
The tension builds and builds throughout the book making it unputdownable as you near the end and it all starts to fall into place.
I really enjoyed this book, it ticked all the boxes for me!
Alison has spent 10 years building a life for herself in the Netherlands and trying desperately to forget about the life she left behind when she receives a request to return home to help with the investigation.
Catherine Ryan Howard did an excellent job with this psychological thriller. Told from different points of view over dual timelines everyone's a suspect as the story unfolds.
The tension builds and builds throughout the book making it unputdownable as you near the end and it all starts to fall into place.
I really enjoyed this book, it ticked all the boxes for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship
This book annoyed me a little. Why did we spend so much time on Ali and Liz’s relationship? If that was part of her coming of age story then why didn’t the author spend more time with Sal to show the differences? Why was Will not cooperating with Malone who suspected something was off? Being silent around Shaw was understandable but why Malone? For me the whole payoff was finding out the serial killer’s motivation and that was a letdown. It seemed.. flimsy.. like he/she just needed a reason appropriate for offing young college women. The big reveal at the end felt forced, like the author just needed something shocking to end the book or something justifying what had been done to one character.
This story grabbed my attention immediately. Will and Alison met in college and started dating right away. Nine months into the relationship Will was arrested for killing four women. One of them being her best friend. Ten years later she thought she put the past behind her until two detectives showed up on her doorstep. She immediately knows why they are there. It's happening again … they found another body in the exact way “Will’ apparently killed them. This story was really good and kept me entertained the whole time.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was this month's book club pick. I cannot get into it - I seem to be in one of those moods. But I don't want to slog through a slow-paced book I'm not enjoying. So...guess I'll just quit the book club?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, Murder, Alcohol
Slow-paced, backstory I didn't need
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
