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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Honestly, it was just ok. Nothing keeping me at the edge of my seat or itching to find out what happens on the next page. Somewhat of an expected ending.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really wanted to like this. I thought it was different and a real interesting premise so I was very excited when my pre order arrived. But it was way too short. It felt like it was a long prologue or the other half of the book was missing. It really did feel half baked and needed more work. The writing is eh, its not well crafted. The idea of the story is interesting, though I feel like the main female character could've been explored in more depth. It was a struggle to get the feel of her character, her life and what is important to her. I got nothing from her. Like she has a husband that barely featured or mentioned. You don't get the idea that she loved him at all . For the first half, I didn't even know she had a husband so I thought the author was setting up a romantic subplot between her and her police friend who visits her repeatedly at the morgue. Also I thought that the main male character came across as a caractuiure, rather than a well rounded character. He just didn't feel real. He felt like a character rather than a real human. I want characters that feel like they could be real humans and this book failed on that. We got glimpses of what was going on in his head, but it never felt authentic. I just wanted more from both of the main characters. It also did a lot of telling not showing.
I have never listened to the authors podcast. I pre ordered because it sounded interesting. This had so much potential and just failed. It felt like a rough draft or a teenagers first time writing fanfiction. When I first started scribbling words on Quizilla, I struggled to make my chapters hit 500 words. The author seemed to have this trouble too. You could tell she was struggling to fill a page count even though the book ended up being very short in the end. Now I can easily write 5-10k chapters if that is what is needed.
Also, I think it's money hungry to make give this a sequel as this book only felt like half the story and the sequel will be the other half. So easily could've been combined. It's very short too. It needs a lot more work. I'm annoyed that I'll have to pay again to get the other half of the book if I decide to read the sequel.
Also, there were a few things that took you out of story. Either because it was factually incorrect or stretched the realm of believability.
for example;
Wren would be allowed no where near this case, especially when her past comes to light and her close involvement. She wouldn't have been allowed to continue and if they did catch him, her involvement would have threatened ever getting a conviction. She was doing an autopsy on a victim even after her police friend found out her connection.
Where did the extra body come from when they thought they shot the killer? Was this the one he kept on in the freezer for later or something? Who was this person? Also Wren, who knows what the killer looks like, realises the body isn't him due to the fact it hasn't been shot. Not that the person has a different face or anything.
The police seem to be Wrens sidekicks. At one point one says, "I can't stop you from coming." erm, yes you can?
Bodies are moved and looked at before the scene has any chance to be processed. Which is a big no no and would again, screw up any chance of getting a conviction.
Wren gets involved and is a witness to certain things happening. No one ever takes her to the station to get her official statement etc.
A girl is buried in coffin in a cemetery. Perhaps six feet underground. But New Orleans doesn't bury their dead. The author even has one of the characters think about how New Orleans doesn't bury their dead and why that is. The problems that happened in the past and the problems with the ground. Yet the killer is able to dig a hole and put a a new body in an old coffin into it without being seen like it's no big deal. And he only had to disable one single camera. Even though normally cameras have cross overs with the area they cover. It just seemed odd and didn't work as it would've if the book was set anywhere else.
Also, does New Orleans have basements? considering parts of the city is below sea level? I wouldn't have thought it was possible.
Also, The Butcher isn't scary. He's actually one of the most pathetic serial killer characters I've ever come across. He has the "I'm so special, intelligent and different. Everyone else is beneath me." energy about him that just comes across as pathetic. He's a loser.
Also, the timelines can be a bit confusing. It took me a while to realise that some of the chapters were in the past. What has Jeremy done for 7 years while Wren went off to medical school? We've got Jeremy chapters where he's torturing some girls, then the next chapter is Wren discovering a body of a girl. So for a while, you think that the body is the same person Jeremy was torturing in the last chapter.
Also, Jeremy insults every captive in his mind except Emily. Which doesn't sit right to me. Almost like Emily survived because she was better than those that came before and was special. Very not like other girls.
Also, Jeremy talks about how his desperate to finish this. To finally get the one who got away. He has a clear chance to kill her easily, yet decides to run? So his entire motivation has just become moot. Also, the whole thing was needless. At one point, he breaks into her house while she sleeps. So another chance to kill her not taken. Also, he's meant to be mentally torturing her through his actions, yet he never gets to see it. He isn't watching or following her throughout the whole book. So he's just guessing that he's mentally effecting her half the time. And she never really gives him a big emotional reaction anyway.
I also didn't think the author handled the mental effects that comes with what Wren went through. It's very surface level. The trauma one would get from that situation barely features. It gets a few throwaway moments but that's it. Like he manages to break into her house easily, like if you've been kidnapped, you'd probably struggle with feeling safe. So home security would be a huge deal and so would be easy access to weapons, no matter what room you're in. She doesn't seem to struggle with that, despite knowing that her kidnapper is still free after what he done to her. The moment I got away and I knew he was free, I would forever be worried about them coming after to me to finish the job. It would be my number one fear. She didn't seem worried until after half way in, where as I would've been worried for the past 7 years. She doesn't take any steps to protect herself e.g buy some bug spray to use as a weapon and seems quite blasé about her safety. I mean, I had an incident with a break in my home when younger and I am still paranoid about safety to this day. And while I went through a traumatic thing, Wren went through something even more terrible yet it barely effects her. People would normally turn their house into a fortress to protect themselves, especially when you know a bloke is out there who wants to murder you and will try to do so eventually. No cameras? No keys with barcodes? Complicated locks? Security lights? Window locks and sensors? Come onnnnn.
It also seemed that the police guy wasn't that passionate about the case and didn't know much. I never got the feeling that he was in the middle of a big case, rather at the very start. This guy has killed many people and it still feels like the police man isn't bothered too much about finding him. Also, if some guy has killed mutiple people, there would be a huge team dedicated to catching him, not just one guy like it seemed.
You can tell that the author has never visited New Orleans aswell.
I don't think this book would've been published if submitted anonymously. The author obviously has fans and they are the reason this book was published, not on the merit of the book itself. This book took years to write and it still reads like a first draft. I hope the next book will have a better editor. Some of the flowery descriptions didn't make any sense and that should've been caught in editing. Using fancy words doesn't make you seem like a better writer.
Spoiler
Thus "come home to me" moment happens, it fails completely to make you feel anything. You're just like eh. These characters had no chemistry and the husband is barely featured. I know nothing about him. So the big romantic scene just fails.I have never listened to the authors podcast. I pre ordered because it sounded interesting. This had so much potential and just failed. It felt like a rough draft or a teenagers first time writing fanfiction. When I first started scribbling words on Quizilla, I struggled to make my chapters hit 500 words. The author seemed to have this trouble too. You could tell she was struggling to fill a page count even though the book ended up being very short in the end. Now I can easily write 5-10k chapters if that is what is needed.
Also, I think it's money hungry to make give this a sequel as this book only felt like half the story and the sequel will be the other half. So easily could've been combined. It's very short too. It needs a lot more work. I'm annoyed that I'll have to pay again to get the other half of the book if I decide to read the sequel.
Also, there were a few things that took you out of story. Either because it was factually incorrect or stretched the realm of believability.
for example;
Spoiler
Wren would be allowed no where near this case, especially when her past comes to light and her close involvement. She wouldn't have been allowed to continue and if they did catch him, her involvement would have threatened ever getting a conviction. She was doing an autopsy on a victim even after her police friend found out her connection.
Where did the extra body come from when they thought they shot the killer? Was this the one he kept on in the freezer for later or something? Who was this person? Also Wren, who knows what the killer looks like, realises the body isn't him due to the fact it hasn't been shot. Not that the person has a different face or anything.
The police seem to be Wrens sidekicks. At one point one says, "I can't stop you from coming." erm, yes you can?
Bodies are moved and looked at before the scene has any chance to be processed. Which is a big no no and would again, screw up any chance of getting a conviction.
Wren gets involved and is a witness to certain things happening. No one ever takes her to the station to get her official statement etc.
A girl is buried in coffin in a cemetery. Perhaps six feet underground. But New Orleans doesn't bury their dead. The author even has one of the characters think about how New Orleans doesn't bury their dead and why that is. The problems that happened in the past and the problems with the ground. Yet the killer is able to dig a hole and put a a new body in an old coffin into it without being seen like it's no big deal. And he only had to disable one single camera. Even though normally cameras have cross overs with the area they cover. It just seemed odd and didn't work as it would've if the book was set anywhere else.
Also, does New Orleans have basements? considering parts of the city is below sea level? I wouldn't have thought it was possible.
Also, The Butcher isn't scary. He's actually one of the most pathetic serial killer characters I've ever come across. He has the "I'm so special, intelligent and different. Everyone else is beneath me." energy about him that just comes across as pathetic. He's a loser.
Also, the timelines can be a bit confusing. It took me a while to realise that some of the chapters were in the past. What has Jeremy done for 7 years while Wren went off to medical school? We've got Jeremy chapters where he's torturing some girls, then the next chapter is Wren discovering a body of a girl. So for a while, you think that the body is the same person Jeremy was torturing in the last chapter.
Also, Jeremy insults every captive in his mind except Emily. Which doesn't sit right to me. Almost like Emily survived because she was better than those that came before and was special. Very not like other girls.
Also, Jeremy talks about how his desperate to finish this. To finally get the one who got away. He has a clear chance to kill her easily, yet decides to run? So his entire motivation has just become moot. Also, the whole thing was needless. At one point, he breaks into her house while she sleeps. So another chance to kill her not taken. Also, he's meant to be mentally torturing her through his actions, yet he never gets to see it. He isn't watching or following her throughout the whole book. So he's just guessing that he's mentally effecting her half the time. And she never really gives him a big emotional reaction anyway.
I also didn't think the author handled the mental effects that comes with what Wren went through. It's very surface level. The trauma one would get from that situation barely features. It gets a few throwaway moments but that's it. Like he manages to break into her house easily, like if you've been kidnapped, you'd probably struggle with feeling safe. So home security would be a huge deal and so would be easy access to weapons, no matter what room you're in. She doesn't seem to struggle with that, despite knowing that her kidnapper is still free after what he done to her. The moment I got away and I knew he was free, I would forever be worried about them coming after to me to finish the job. It would be my number one fear. She didn't seem worried until after half way in, where as I would've been worried for the past 7 years. She doesn't take any steps to protect herself e.g buy some bug spray to use as a weapon and seems quite blasé about her safety. I mean, I had an incident with a break in my home when younger and I am still paranoid about safety to this day. And while I went through a traumatic thing, Wren went through something even more terrible yet it barely effects her. People would normally turn their house into a fortress to protect themselves, especially when you know a bloke is out there who wants to murder you and will try to do so eventually. No cameras? No keys with barcodes? Complicated locks? Security lights? Window locks and sensors? Come onnnnn.
It also seemed that the police guy wasn't that passionate about the case and didn't know much. I never got the feeling that he was in the middle of a big case, rather at the very start. This guy has killed many people and it still feels like the police man isn't bothered too much about finding him. Also, if some guy has killed mutiple people, there would be a huge team dedicated to catching him, not just one guy like it seemed.
You can tell that the author has never visited New Orleans aswell.
I don't think this book would've been published if submitted anonymously. The author obviously has fans and they are the reason this book was published, not on the merit of the book itself. This book took years to write and it still reads like a first draft. I hope the next book will have a better editor. Some of the flowery descriptions didn't make any sense and that should've been caught in editing. Using fancy words doesn't make you seem like a better writer.
dark
tense
i want to start off by saying that i came to read this book because of the author; alaina. i'm a huge fan of alaina and ash, and of course their podcast.
having said that though, i still want to give this book a fair score. do i think alaina is the worst author in the world? heavens no. is she the best? absolutely not. this book is just okay. it took me forever to finish which is never a good sign, and it was very rare that i had that "one more chapter!" feeling. the concept is overall a very good one, but i believe it was executed in a confusing manner. i can't decide yet if i will read the next book in this series, as this one just really didn't have me craving for more. i wanted to love this book so bad, but i just really couldn't.
having said that though, i still want to give this book a fair score. do i think alaina is the worst author in the world? heavens no. is she the best? absolutely not. this book is just okay. it took me forever to finish which is never a good sign, and it was very rare that i had that "one more chapter!" feeling. the concept is overall a very good one, but i believe it was executed in a confusing manner. i can't decide yet if i will read the next book in this series, as this one just really didn't have me craving for more. i wanted to love this book so bad, but i just really couldn't.
This is a fast paced, interesting, medically and technically fascinating and accurate book from unique perspectives! So good.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood