Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First and foremost, this is definitely a series! I was expecting the story to be wrapped up here and each book to be its own mystery, but that is not the case, so just be prepared for that.
With that out of the way, this was just a fun, quick time. It's not deep or crazy. There's a couple twists but I found them a little predictable. Still, the story doesn't rely on the twists being shocking but rather allows them to help develop the book. I do think the style of this makes it obvious the author is a true crime buff, even if you didn't already know, but it wasn't too annoying. A good thriller.
With that out of the way, this was just a fun, quick time. It's not deep or crazy. There's a couple twists but I found them a little predictable. Still, the story doesn't rely on the twists being shocking but rather allows them to help develop the book. I do think the style of this makes it obvious the author is a true crime buff, even if you didn't already know, but it wasn't too annoying. A good thriller.
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
I loved the split between the detective’s point of view and that of the killer. I did feel that it ended too abruptly and was confused during the stand off. I hope there is a second one!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
The ending was a bit too abrupt for me and I think that some of the characters choices didn’t really coincide with how I would expect them to act, but overall a quick and engrossing (and at times just gross) read!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This story is definitely a quick read because of how well it pulls you in. I have read this book twice and listened to the audiobook. I loved it!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
Love Alaina from her podcast. Buuuut… let’s be honest. This wouldn’t have been published in a million years if it wasn’t guaranteed to sell to a handful of her hundred million followers based off her name alone. She’s brilliant. But her writing is amateur at best. It showcases her flaws which are normally so easy to overlook as a podcast host alone. She has an extremely limited reality. Even the smartest of people can’t do much writing without any actual real world experience. And I’m not talking about the gory details of things. That she clearly has that in spades. Im referencing the fact that she’s a homebody who refuses to travel (even to a place she chose to write a book about a 3/4 days car trip away) and avoids getting to know the human condition in all of its marvelous multitudes outside of her comfort circle (again obvious by her propensity to analyze objectively (yet judge subjectively) every killer she covers)- and it is painfully obvious in her writing. Her reductive thinking of murderers as actual people is reflected in her antagonist Jeremy and the story suffers immensely for it. Serial killers are not simply just “”evil” tropes “I hate my mom”, “My father killed a deer in front of me”. On the same note, this book borderline calls out how very limited the author’s knowledge and experiences are… You can hear her own voice in every single character/dialogue. Almost as if that’s the only narrative she could possibly conjure up, given her best attempts. Additionally, every corner of this written world she explores explains itself like she does on her podcast. She name drops half a dozen serial killers as if post-it note level insights into their M.O.s is somehow relevant to lecture us with. She makes the same ten points she repeats constantly on her podcast throughout the narrative (satanic panic, dating apps *woof). The whole thing reads like a bad cop drama (which is ironic given how many times she makes fun of movies of the same nature on her Scream! Podcast). All in all, the entire narrative is merely an uninspired agglomeration of her favorite interests and limited knowledge (The killer plays “Don’t Fear the Reaper” ((we get it, you like Scream)), “C-5, stay alive”, multiple Bowie references, and a character who reads just like her… if she were in Dexter/Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs (her favorite show/movie). And the victims’ scenes just read like the bad, campy horror movies she loves to hate/love. I’m sorry. I genuinely don’t mean this to sound mean… but the reviews of people who loved this book… I don’t think they actually read that many books. I love Alaina. And it’s cool she took a stab at this. But I think products deserve honest feedback. I do not recommend this book.