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paulabrandon's review
3.0
Dr. Kate Wolfe is devastated by the suicide of her patient, Nikki, who she thought was improving. She believes she has a way to redeem herself by taking on the case of Maddie Ward, whose mother finds her too much of a handful and claims she is possessed.
Maddie reminds Kate a lot of her younger sister, Savannah, who was murdered sixteen years ago. Her murderer is due to be put to death in a matter of weeks. At Nikki's funeral, Kate is approached by Palmer Dyson, the detective who investigated Savannah's death. He believes that the man on death row is not the killer, and that the real killer is still out there, having murdered many other young girls. Kate's search for the truth uncovers secrets about her life, including the marriage of her late, mentally unstable mother to her cold, distant father.
This was a decent thriller that had me interested in coming back to it whenever I could. I read it a lot faster than many other books this year. There is not much I can really say about it! It didn't wow me. It's not the best of its genre, but it's far from the worst. Kate's relationship with her boyfriend James was a bit cringey. Her to-and-fro over who the killer might be is somewhat exasperating - she'll change her mind within the space of a paragraph! The book also tries to take a bite out of the popular unreliable narrator trope, but it falls pretty flat. The climax is exciting, even if the killer's motive is a bit thin, and the author struggles to connect all the various plot strands convincingly.
However, I enjoyed it. I've been disappointed by a lot of books this year, but this managed to keep me hooked despite being part of a crowded genre.
Maddie reminds Kate a lot of her younger sister, Savannah, who was murdered sixteen years ago. Her murderer is due to be put to death in a matter of weeks. At Nikki's funeral, Kate is approached by Palmer Dyson, the detective who investigated Savannah's death. He believes that the man on death row is not the killer, and that the real killer is still out there, having murdered many other young girls. Kate's search for the truth uncovers secrets about her life, including the marriage of her late, mentally unstable mother to her cold, distant father.
This was a decent thriller that had me interested in coming back to it whenever I could. I read it a lot faster than many other books this year. There is not much I can really say about it! It didn't wow me. It's not the best of its genre, but it's far from the worst. Kate's relationship with her boyfriend James was a bit cringey. Her to-and-fro over who the killer might be is somewhat exasperating - she'll change her mind within the space of a paragraph! The book also tries to take a bite out of the popular unreliable narrator trope, but it falls pretty flat. The climax is exciting, even if the killer's motive is a bit thin, and the author struggles to connect all the various plot strands convincingly.
However, I enjoyed it. I've been disappointed by a lot of books this year, but this managed to keep me hooked despite being part of a crowded genre.
books4biana's review
Another good mystery!
One of the best things about non-series books is the absolute lack of familiar characters. As I'm listening to the story unfold, I'm wondering who the killer is...is it our main character? Her father? The nice detective? One just does not know....and one doesn't know if our character is going to make it to the end...will she succumb to madness? Will she also be killed? Will she make it thru and write a book?
The one complaint that I do have is that the clues weren't apparent. I couldn't unravel the mystery with the information that I was given. I like to figure things out.
One of the best things about non-series books is the absolute lack of familiar characters. As I'm listening to the story unfold, I'm wondering who the killer is...is it our main character? Her father? The nice detective? One just does not know....and one doesn't know if our character is going to make it to the end...will she succumb to madness? Will she also be killed? Will she make it thru and write a book?
The one complaint that I do have is that the clues weren't apparent. I couldn't unravel the mystery with the information that I was given. I like to figure things out.
anionce's review
3.0
3.5*
A Breath After Drowning is one of those psychological thriller books that I’m still excited to read. It is both a mystery and a psychological thriller at the same time, and it’s not about husbands and wives and marriages gone wrong. And I love that!
This is the story of child psychologist Kate Wolfe (great name!), whose sister was killed years ago by Henry Blackwood (even better name!). After one of her patients kills herself, Kate starts obsessing about another patient of hers, who shares a connection with Henry. But does she know what really happened all those years ago? Or could she be wrong about everything she’s believed in until now?
You know how I love cold cases or crimes from the past that they’re not what it seemed in the first place. I was addicted from the very first page, as Alice Blanchard has a really compelling way of keeping you on the edge of your seat, wanting to know more. Although the mystery doesn’t really start until about 40%, there wasn’t a moment when I didn’t want to keep reading.
My only issue with A Breath After Drowning was with the ending, which felt a bit far-fetched for my taste. It wasn’t predictable, as I had no idea of what had happened, but the conclusion left me a bit indifferent. I kind of felt like they wanted to tie up every loose end, no matter if some character’s motives or actions didn’t make much sense.
Despite my problems with the ending, I really enjoyed this novel. It was a solid thriller, an exciting one that fans of serial killer stories will undoubtedly love. And I’d definitely read Alice Blanchard again!
A Breath After Drowning is one of those psychological thriller books that I’m still excited to read. It is both a mystery and a psychological thriller at the same time, and it’s not about husbands and wives and marriages gone wrong. And I love that!
This is the story of child psychologist Kate Wolfe (great name!), whose sister was killed years ago by Henry Blackwood (even better name!). After one of her patients kills herself, Kate starts obsessing about another patient of hers, who shares a connection with Henry. But does she know what really happened all those years ago? Or could she be wrong about everything she’s believed in until now?
You know how I love cold cases or crimes from the past that they’re not what it seemed in the first place. I was addicted from the very first page, as Alice Blanchard has a really compelling way of keeping you on the edge of your seat, wanting to know more. Although the mystery doesn’t really start until about 40%, there wasn’t a moment when I didn’t want to keep reading.
My only issue with A Breath After Drowning was with the ending, which felt a bit far-fetched for my taste. It wasn’t predictable, as I had no idea of what had happened, but the conclusion left me a bit indifferent. I kind of felt like they wanted to tie up every loose end, no matter if some character’s motives or actions didn’t make much sense.
Despite my problems with the ending, I really enjoyed this novel. It was a solid thriller, an exciting one that fans of serial killer stories will undoubtedly love. And I’d definitely read Alice Blanchard again!
krssy31m's review
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
3.0
wombat_88's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.0
sophie5828's review
2.0
I just see no reason for this book to contain every content warning scenario under the sun, when only 3 or 4 really impact the overall story, it felt like they were added for shock value. I’m not someone who needs content warnings necessarily but truly the number of incredibly heavy topics in this book was completely unnecessary and several of them were not even remotely important to the plot. This would EASILY be a 4 star read for me if it wasn’t for these unnecessary “shock value” traumas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, Stalking, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Cancer
addy1991's review
2.0
The overall plot was quite good but the writing didn't keep my interest like I thought it would. A shame really.
mels_reading's review
dark
tense
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? No
2.5
Most unlikeable protagonist I’ve come across in a while. I actually hoped she’d join the long list of victims in this painfully drawn out story. And her obnoxious boyfriend, too.
trulybooked's review
3.0
The novel started off well, I was intrigued about what happened while cautious about the treatment of mental illness. It's always a minefield, bringing in mental illness into a novel. We usually see the most theatrical sides of illness and that's definitely the case with this novel. As such, it took me more time to get into it.
Kate is a main character who is dealing with her own demons and I feel like she was well-realized. There are moments where you see issues between the relationship and work exhaustion taking hold. These moments where Kate was trying to find her balance felt very real.
But toward the end, it lost me. There are so many things going on and I won't list them here to avoid spoilers, but there was no way that all of these things were going to get resolved.
I enjoyed reading the novel right up until about the end and then it lost me which is a terrible place for a mystery to lose you. It builds suspense exceptionally well with an almost David Lynch feel sometimes when it comes to how characters are acting, but then I lost the thread.
For more reviews like this, check out Truly Booked.
Kate is a main character who is dealing with her own demons and I feel like she was well-realized. There are moments where you see issues between the relationship and work exhaustion taking hold. These moments where Kate was trying to find her balance felt very real.
But toward the end, it lost me. There are so many things going on and I won't list them here to avoid spoilers, but there was no way that all of these things were going to get resolved.
I enjoyed reading the novel right up until about the end and then it lost me which is a terrible place for a mystery to lose you. It builds suspense exceptionally well with an almost David Lynch feel sometimes when it comes to how characters are acting, but then I lost the thread.
For more reviews like this, check out Truly Booked.
czytatnik's review
3.0
Kate prowadzi całkiem zwyczajne życie. Niedawno rozpoczęła praktykę w szpitalu jako psychaitra dziecięcy. Prywatnie także wiedzie jej się dobrze: właśnie przeprowadziła się ze swoim chłopakiem do ich własnego mieszkania. Pod tym zwyczajnym życiem kryje się jednak trudna przeszłość Kate. Kiedy była dzieckiem jej matka popełniła samobójstwo topiąc się w rzece z kieszeniami pełnymi kamieni. Kiedy była nastolatką jej młodsza siostra została porwana i odnaleziona martwa. Przyczyną zgonu było pogrzebanie żywcem. Teraz, 16 lat po tamtych wydarzeniach, morderca małej Savannah ma zostać poddany karze śmierci. Tuż przed jego egzekucją pojawiają się jednak wątpliwości co do tego, czy aby na pewno to on pozbawił życia młodszą siostrę Kate. Młoda kobieta zostaje uwikłana w śledztwo, którego nie chce i w którym zaczyna odkrywać coraz więcej sekretów przeszłości, które nigdy nie powinny ujrzeć światła dziennego.
Całość recenzji pod adresem: http://zapach-ksiazek.pl/alice-blanchard-glod-zabijania-tajemnice-przeszlosci/
Całość recenzji pod adresem: http://zapach-ksiazek.pl/alice-blanchard-glod-zabijania-tajemnice-przeszlosci/