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Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Vomit, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Classism
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
This is another book club book that didn't look like what I normally read (contemporary mystery vs fantasy, sci fi, and historic fiction) but decided to read anyways. My specific thoughts when reading the synopsis was "this looks so messed up, I want to read it." It did not disappoint on that front.
The story is told in short chapters in a mix of third person limited and first person PoV, following Laurel in the story's present, Ellie around the time of her disappearance,
Characters are OK. Most of Laurel's family are likable enough and don't overstay their welcome, but I'm not sure if I would have been as attached to Ellie if she wasn't so similar to me at that age. For better or worse, Lisa Jewell does not shy away from the more unpleasant side of someone coping with a parent's worst nightmare, and at times Laurel's PoV can be frustrating to read about. The worst though, is probably Floyd. Maybe it's the fact that the synopsis hints at a connection with Ellie's disappearance, but it was obvious that something was off with him. However, my big issue is that while Laurel finds him charming, I never did. He comes off as a clingy sex pest with a weirdly clingy relationship with his younger daughter, and the climax revelations make him even worse in retrospect.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Kidnapping
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Dementia, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Car accident, Death of parent