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doublemegative's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Vomit
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Blood, and Bullying
Minor: Sexual assault
hdunscombe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Grief, Child death, Gaslighting, Bullying, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Body shaming
Minor: Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, and Alcohol
drbrizzlybear'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Grief, and Murder
nixicat1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying and Death
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
sheryl_macca's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The Secret Place is a murder mystery. A teenage boy is found dead in the grounds of a girl's boarding school and after a year without any leads a clue lands on Moran's desk. The two detectives are strangers to each other and as their working relationship develops so does the case.
There are two timelines in the book. The main timeline follows the detectives and 8 suspects today. When I say today, I really mean it. All 480 pages of this book only cover one single day. This slow pace allows for tense scrutiny, detailed description and strong character development on a truly luxurious level.
The second timeline is told in flashback from a few weeks prior to the boys death until the night of his murder. These chapters are little gifts left for the reader throughout. They are moments of mundane teenage drama, so realistic that you feel part of the in crowd.
I was kept guessing until the final pages and ultimately the reveal was pretty anti climatic but not in a bad way. It worked. Who did it wasn't the point. What happened on the way to finding out was.
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, and Sexual content