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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
mysterious
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
This was fine, but very predictable. And Chloe is SO dumb.
*spoilers* I'm going to say this is a middle of the road thriller. It was hard to follow the story with flashbacks inserted in disjointed ways. I surmise that this was on purpose because the narrator was feeling confusion and overlap as well. But it was difficult for me. I suspected the brother from the beginning, but wasn't sure how it would all come together. I feel like some of it was forced and didn't quite make sense. Why did Aaron/Tyler help Cooper? Where did Cooper's darkness come from? Why did the killings start back up? I also feel like we were supposed to be shocked about Cooper but we hardly saw him in the story. I did like the vibe of ominous darkness that we felt in the first part of the book. Overall, middle of the road.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
I chanced across A Flicker in the Dark through Libby, and while I can't say it was the most engrossing story I've read in recent memory, it was still competent and enjoyable for what it is.
I don't know that it's going to be the most interesting thing for most readers. The plot is fairly bare-bones, a dependably average thriller with all the requisite tropes. Our somewhat damaged and unwell protagonist investigates a classic murder mystery, while grappling with her own past. The sense of setting is practically nonexistent, though the handful of cultural touchstones of rural Louisiana that were introduced were fun. There's some classic late-game revelations, and some pretty predictable plot twists. I was able to call the ending fairly early on. But even so, it was still decently enjoyable and worth a quick read.
It helps that it's not overly long, and the author clearly has a good sense of how to compose a tightly-edited narrative. Very little filler or fluff rests between these pages. But much like I felt about The Killing Plains, I wonder if being simply competent and average is enough for most readers these days. I don't necessarily know, but I will say with confidence that this is a decent read that's inoffensive and reasonably enjoyable, and for me that was enough today.
I don't know that it's going to be the most interesting thing for most readers. The plot is fairly bare-bones, a dependably average thriller with all the requisite tropes. Our somewhat damaged and unwell protagonist investigates a classic murder mystery, while grappling with her own past. The sense of setting is practically nonexistent, though the handful of cultural touchstones of rural Louisiana that were introduced were fun. There's some classic late-game revelations, and some pretty predictable plot twists. I was able to call the ending fairly early on. But even so, it was still decently enjoyable and worth a quick read.
It helps that it's not overly long, and the author clearly has a good sense of how to compose a tightly-edited narrative. Very little filler or fluff rests between these pages. But much like I felt about The Killing Plains, I wonder if being simply competent and average is enough for most readers these days. I don't necessarily know, but I will say with confidence that this is a decent read that's inoffensive and reasonably enjoyable, and for me that was enough today.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
so slow to start and predictable. the last 100 pages or so were interesting but that’s about it