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whimsicaljune's review against another edition
4.0
Tessa was one of a number of girls dubbed "The Susan's". A group of young ladies who were murdered and dumped in a field of Black-Eyed Susans. Though in Tess'a case, she survived. We spend quite a bit of time in her head and learn how this survival has affected her living.
The main character Tessa is well developed, though some of the supporting characters are lacking. Quite a few times I found myself wondering who "so and so" was only to realized that I had already been introduced.
"Black-Eyed Susans" took me a little more time to get into than some other books I've read. It's not one of those books that grabs you from the get go, a slow burner if you will. About halfway through it really started to pick up speed and by the end of the book, it was definitely a page turner. For tha, I would definitely recommend this suspense thriller.
The main character Tessa is well developed, though some of the supporting characters are lacking. Quite a few times I found myself wondering who "so and so" was only to realized that I had already been introduced.
"Black-Eyed Susans" took me a little more time to get into than some other books I've read. It's not one of those books that grabs you from the get go, a slow burner if you will. About halfway through it really started to pick up speed and by the end of the book, it was definitely a page turner. For tha, I would definitely recommend this suspense thriller.
booksnake386's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
2.75
es_the_book_hoarder's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Great pace and wonderful twist that I only half saw coming. I'd like to recommend this if you fancy a bit if suspense and mystery.
tmj65's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
gabmc's review against another edition
2.0
I had very mixed feelings about this book. It took me a long long time (especially for a thriller) to get into it and I never really connected with the main character. Tessie was 17 when she was found alive in a ditch covered in black eyed Susans. A man was convicted and now almost 20 years later, Tessa wonders if the wrong man is about to be executed. Several times over that 20 years, someone has planted black eyed Susans under her window - this means that the real killer is still out there. And then there is the mystery of what happened to her best friend, Lydia, who has been out of touch since the trial. This Lydia part of the story took too long to happen to the point that I wasn't sure if she was going to be relevant at all.
escragg92's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
cheekylaydee's review against another edition
3.0
Imagine waking up not knowing where you are. As you come to your senses you feel dirt under your fingernails, grit on your legs and a bitter dry taste in your mouth. There is another girl's dead stare aimed right at you. This is all Tessa remembers from the events of 14 years ago. She is the only surviving victim of a serial killer. She is a black-eyed Susan. Named for the flowers that crowded the field she was found in.
That's all she remembers and now there are therapists probing into her brain's protective cocoon, trying to dredge her memories back. Blindness caused by trauma seems to have given her temporary relief, yet people won't give up. There is a man on death row for this crime, yet he may be innocent, and Tessa's memories hold the key to his release. But if it wasn't him, who was it? More importantly, where is he? And who has been planting black-eyed Susans under Tessa's window?
I felt that this book had a lot of potential, but the 3-star rating reflects it not quite reaching that for me. You would think the main thing that would occupy the reader's mind would be 'who is the real killer?' But I found the relationship between Tessa and her best friend Lydia a lot more intriguing. One minute Lydia is Tessie's rock, then there's a falling out over something the reader is in the dark about and Lydia and her family up and leave. Why?
It is always a little disappointing when you can guess for yourself who the killer is, which is what happened to me. As a hardened crime reader, I want something that's going to wow me and blow my socks off. This failed to do that for me,hence the average rating, however, although the focus was a bit off for me there was still enough intrigue to keep me reading. This book has been dubbed as ideal for fans of Gillian Flynn, but having read 'Gone Girl' in my opinion it didn't live up to that. A good enough read, but pretty average.
That's all she remembers and now there are therapists probing into her brain's protective cocoon, trying to dredge her memories back. Blindness caused by trauma seems to have given her temporary relief, yet people won't give up. There is a man on death row for this crime, yet he may be innocent, and Tessa's memories hold the key to his release. But if it wasn't him, who was it? More importantly, where is he? And who has been planting black-eyed Susans under Tessa's window?
I felt that this book had a lot of potential, but the 3-star rating reflects it not quite reaching that for me. You would think the main thing that would occupy the reader's mind would be 'who is the real killer?' But I found the relationship between Tessa and her best friend Lydia a lot more intriguing. One minute Lydia is Tessie's rock, then there's a falling out over something the reader is in the dark about and Lydia and her family up and leave. Why?
It is always a little disappointing when you can guess for yourself who the killer is, which is what happened to me. As a hardened crime reader, I want something that's going to wow me and blow my socks off. This failed to do that for me,hence the average rating, however, although the focus was a bit off for me there was still enough intrigue to keep me reading. This book has been dubbed as ideal for fans of Gillian Flynn, but having read 'Gone Girl' in my opinion it didn't live up to that. A good enough read, but pretty average.
rachelellyn's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed how the author wove old and new, Tessy and Tessa, to form the story