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raleyr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Murder and Physical abuse
jaydub0221's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Stalking
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Torture, and Gore
Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Car accident, Dementia, Self harm, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Vomit, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
nkg202's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Car accident, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Death of parent, and Infidelity
madluck's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Torture, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Stalking
katiea714's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Torture, Death, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Addiction, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Deadnaming, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Bullying, Alcohol, Car accident, Chronic illness, Classism, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
cinderellasbookshelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
An unnamed narrator, who sometimes goes by “Tobias,” and his wife, Millicent, have led a fairly normal life in their well-to-do neighborhood raising their two children, Rory and Jenna. The only excitement they feed off of each other however, is that they kill people. And this isn’t the first time they have done this.
The single POV narration gave me Joe Goldberg/You vibes. It was eerie how he thought and processed things so calmly, along with some occasional frustrations when it’s related to his children’s growing pains. Even the way he and Millicent would plot or talk about the murders was unsettling. It kind of reminded me of the two characters from Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt who would casually talk about how they would kill each other, except Millicent and Tobias’s actual plans felt more disturbing. You can feel the violent undertones even though most of the action happens off page and is only referenced in news reports.
Compared to other thrillers, this is less action heavy and is more focused on Tobias’s life than the actual murders. The suspense is beneath the surface where the underlying tension that brews from domesticity and its mundanity brings up a magnitude of questions: who is your spouse, what are they doing when you’re not together, who are your children, are they the way they are because of you? And the bigger question, how did I get here?
I’m kind of torn between if I liked the book overall or not. I liked the concept and how it’s different from most thrillers, but I also wanted it to have more punch because after a while there is only so much about a person’s daily home life you can take. It was a page turner though.
Minor: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Suicide
moonwaterotter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
All said, I did mostly enjoy it. I had an actually wtf moment halfway through the book and it was the biggest highlight for me.
And now here’s a list of my thoughts that is FULL of spoilers.
I immediately knew that Millicent was the “evil sister” growing up and waiting for the main character to realize that was absolutely agonizing.
I literally said “what the f-uck” out loud whenever they announced that Trista killed herself. Like at this point, I thought maybe she had helped Owen in the past (and maybe she did honestly who knows) but that’s not what I was expecting.
I also figured out Millicent was poisoning Jenna almost immediately. I thought the book was going to climax with Millicent saying she had kidnapped and killed all of the women because she was an Owen fan-girl and that she and Owen were going to murder Jenna together or something.
I thought Kekona was going to be the third victim and the cops were going to catch him at her house or something. I also thought the descriptions of Kekona were a bit strange and didn’t really sit right with me. (As well as the description of Trista’s sister at the funeral.)
I think it’s pretty fucked that the main character never tells Andy that he KNOWS WHY his wife killed herself.
The ending is cheeky but I wish they both died, not just Millicent.
Graphic: Suicide, Kidnapping, Cursing, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Stalking, Torture, Car accident, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
readingisforhotgirls's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Stalking
rae_bookmarkchronicles's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The twist was surprising but actually makes a lot of sense thinking about the characters.
One thing that didn't make sense to me was the fact that no one - not even the reporters - had thought to track down the real Owen. And yeah I know he changed his name and everything but that seems like something that no one would let slip.
I've heard this is getting an adaptation so I think it will be a good one.
Graphic: Torture, Murder, and Physical abuse
alexandriasreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I do wish the resolution was a bit better, or maybe just longer, it seemed the set up took precedence. I did enjoy that last line, truly came full circle! Overall, pretty fun read!
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Suicide
Minor: Child abuse and Death of parent