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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
Also posted at Short & Lazy Book Reviews.
THE BLURB LIES. I expected something interesting, something worthy of the woman in the blurb who doesn’t want to stay quiet anymore and can “make people believe anything” but it never happened. Jean is a quiet, downtrodden wife married to a controlling man, and can’t do jack shit for herself, EVEN AFTER HE’S DEAD.
You lie, blurb!
I’m angrier at the ruse than I am at the actual novel itself. While I didn’t get the page turner I expected, it wasn’t entirely bad. It just wasn’t that fantastic, either. Jean was a doormat, the reporter was cliche, the detective was a boring cliche, nothing was really exciting. The worst part was the reporter and detective sharing their thoughts on Jean being in control of herself and somehow some sort of emotional manipulator when none of that came through in the text at ALL.
I could barely get my interest up when the mystery of the missing child is sorted through at the end, and if the author was expecting anything out of me in that last bit with Jean other than a mighty eye roll, then I’m sorry. Nothing about that finale was earned by the rest of the book.
THE BLURB LIES. I expected something interesting, something worthy of the woman in the blurb who doesn’t want to stay quiet anymore and can “make people believe anything” but it never happened. Jean is a quiet, downtrodden wife married to a controlling man, and can’t do jack shit for herself, EVEN AFTER HE’S DEAD.
You lie, blurb!
I’m angrier at the ruse than I am at the actual novel itself. While I didn’t get the page turner I expected, it wasn’t entirely bad. It just wasn’t that fantastic, either. Jean was a doormat, the reporter was cliche, the detective was a boring cliche, nothing was really exciting. The worst part was the reporter and detective sharing their thoughts on Jean being in control of herself and somehow some sort of emotional manipulator when none of that came through in the text at ALL.
I could barely get my interest up when the mystery of the missing child is sorted through at the end, and if the author was expecting anything out of me in that last bit with Jean other than a mighty eye roll, then I’m sorry. Nothing about that finale was earned by the rest of the book.
First Fiona Barton Book and I liked the format a lot. It was nice to "hear" different personalities come through each narrator. I am starting The Child next.
dark
tense
fast-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
It's really interesting how the weak characters are really the strong ones and vice versa.
Good psychological suspense novel but not outstanding
2.5 stars. This wasn’t super exciting and there weren’t really any twists along the way and you know who did it from the beginning. But the writing was good enough. Might be worth giving another of her books a try.
I thought the book was well written but the story line disgusted and appalled me. It made me angry. She knew what her husband was doing and she just sat by and did nothing for way too long.
This one was just ok for me. It was a quick read and had some interesting moments, but it was a little predictable. I enjoyed the varying points of view, and the widow was an interesting character, but I am ready for them to stop trying to compare books to Gone Girl. I think I would have liked this one better if it hadn't been compared to anything.
A good multiple point-of-view crime story will utilize the device to reveal unexpected aspects of the storyline. In this novel it just felt like they were layering detail on top of detail. The writing is really good, but the pacing felt off (the climax of the story comes early and then the end of the book kind of dangles).