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lillyrose97'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
3.0
Graphic: Trafficking, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
adamsbookshelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What a great mystery. I thought this story had such good pacing. Most thrillers end the chapters reminding you that one of them won't make it home alive but this novel didn't do that at all. I really REALLY enjoyed that Emma's story never progressed until Jane found information that allowed her story to progress. I think the only redeemable character in this story is Jane everyone else is so terrible which I think was the point. I have a hard time telling when characters are meant to have a redeeming aspect to them in thrillers. I also think Edward should just go see a therapist and get diagnosed.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Miscarriage, and Eating disorder
drmakween's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Miscarriage and Rape
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Domestic abuse
kyptonight's review against another edition
0.25
Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Child death, and Abortion
beeley10's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Toxic relationship
bbsbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I really enjoyed how this book explored psychology and why certain characters were driven to do the things they did. It made me question the intentions of other characters as well.
However, there were elements to this book that made me really uncomfortable and probably not in the way the author intended. First of all the sexual scenes were really cringey, as was a lot of the writing. “Yes daddy yes” made me want to throw up in my mouth. I’m not trying to kink shame at all but something about that really didn’t sit well with me, maybe because I knew it was written by a man? I also hated when they wrote “so he’s like” before a character’s dialogue, it just didn’t work for me.
Another thing that made me really uncomfortable was the opinions on abortion and disabled children portrayed through this book. I think it is Jane who refers to abortion as “cowardly” but later decides to terminate if her baby is diagnosed with Down’s syndrome. I know this book came out a few years ago now but those opinions just felt outdated and unnecessary.
Emma’s character really grated on me, especially as she started to unravel and I was put off reading the book a couple of times by the thought of having to read more about her.
I wish they had ended the book with Emma’s letter, that last chapter from Jane just felt unbelievable and fell flat.
Overall a good mystery book that will keep you guessing until the end, if you can put up with the annoying characters throughout.
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Abortion
parttimerarebookdealer's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship