Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.01 AVERAGE
3.01 AVERAGE
3 1/2 rounded up to 4 - An interesting, twisty ride. Lila Dalton is trying a murder case, but she can't remember anything about her life before then. This book really gripped me for the first half and I was there for the ride. So many suspicious people, clues and conspiracies. Then after that I felt as confused and upset as Lila herself. I couldn't figure out what was going on or who to trust and there was a lot of legal jargon and the organization and the way it worked was very hard to understand.
I kept reading though because I was hoping for a satisfying ending to explain it all. I did get that, sort of...the ending was satisfying, but it didn't really clear up all of the confusion. As a debut novel though, I thought it was a lot to take on and the book was certainly unique. I would be interested in reading another to see how the author is improving.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.
I kept reading though because I was hoping for a satisfying ending to explain it all. I did get that, sort of...the ending was satisfying, but it didn't really clear up all of the confusion. As a debut novel though, I thought it was a lot to take on and the book was certainly unique. I would be interested in reading another to see how the author is improving.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Very very strange. I liked it but it made my head feel inside out by the end. Closest comps would be 22 Murders of Madison May or 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, although it's not like either of those in plot or setting -- but the overall feel and the reader appeal are a match. It's a mystery that has two layers of mystery -- in this case, the case at the heart of the trial and the question of Lila's missing memories and what has happened to her and what's going on with the chilling but banal (or should it be banal but chilling?) setting of Assumption Island. I think I still have some questions about the ending but I liked the ride so I'm ok with that.
Odd. I found the premise intriguing and I like courtroom dramas so I decided to see where it went. Maybe I’m not quite clever enough to thoroughly understand the ending, but I thought it got more confusing as it went along and I can’t imagine that anyone could see it turning out as it did. The writing and narration were decent, it was just a very convoluted ride.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If I’m being so honest I would have dnf,this book. I pushed along simply because after chapter 8 I picked up the audio and started reading and listening and that made it much much better. This book is a fever dream and not a good one. So much plots I felt wasn’t really flushed out. This could have been really good, it should have on paper. But just didn’t come together. And the ending that shit made me mad.
Trials by Lila Dalton left me disappointed & confused. There was way too much going on, added to the fact that Lila couldn’t remember anything, This book with all its British legal jargon was too much and very confusing . The premise of this book sounded so good unfortunately this was a DNF for me @60% . I tried several times to get through this book to give a fair review , but it fell flat for me . I, however would love to try reading something different from this author.
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in turn for my honest thoughts.
Pub date: Aug 27, 2024
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in turn for my honest thoughts.
Pub date: Aug 27, 2024
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The storyline was great, however, I found that it had a steady buildup throughout the novel only for the conclusion to feel rushed and quite confusing. I did enjoy how we slowly gained a connection to Lila as the story goes on. A side note also: who was the man with the blue eyes that Lila was remembering? Not sure if I missed that in the ending or whether it wasn’t fully addressed