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dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Laurel I can’t stand her but I get what she is going through. She neglected everyone which was very sad and I guess she got her daughter back in the worst way possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Stalking, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Gaslighting
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Pregnancy
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, Stalking
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This one was so much darker than I expected. If you like flawed characters and emotionally vivid stories exploring fear, sadness, anger, and heartbreak, you might really like this.
Energy: Tension. Dread. Poignancy.
🐕 Howls: I had to skim some scenes because it was so anxiety-inducing (they’re so genuinely horrific my brain doesn’t need any help being paranoid about them!) kidnapping/confinement + forced pregnancy + evil hiding in plain sight .
🐩 Tail Wags: The writing style. The foreshadowing. Exploring how seemingly innocuous, harmless decisions can lead to tragedy. Characters that are deeply flawed and human. Slow but absorbing pace.
Scene: 🏴 London, England
Perspectives (4): We mainly follow the parent of a teen who went missing a decade ago, and the teenager leading up to their disappearance. We also get additional perspectives of a math tutor and the parent’s love interest, who is raising a kid with a striking resemblance to their missing daughter.
Timeline: Then & Now (2005 & 2015)
Narrative: Invisible in the room, overhearing thoughts, being told a story. Reader mostly in-the-know compared to characters (first person or third person objective depending on the character).
Fuel: Finding love after giving up, coping with grief, the circumstances leading to the mystery of the missing daughter. What happened to Ellie? How did the family handle it? W Is her mother seeing what she wants to see in her new relationship? Can she trust her new boyfriend?
Cred: Realistic to plausible
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Old cooking and unwashed hair. Navy blue rucksack. Maths. John Lewis childswear.
- Punchy, reflective, vivid writing style
- Eccentric, flawed, sympathetic, complicated, and unhinged characters
- Slow burn missing person suspense
- Emotionally vivid psychological drama
- Surreal ripped-from-the-headlines feel
- Can-she-trust-him later in life meetcute
- Simmering resentments and unhinged ‘pick me’
- Obsession, stalking, jealousy, loneliness
- High emotional stakes interpersonal drama
- Monsters hiding in plain sight
- Wrong place, wrong time
- Themes of cruelty, depravity, grief, desperation, forgiveness, healing, adversity, parenthood, and choice
Content Heads-Up: Animal death (mention; hamsters). Burglary (home). Child neglect. Custodial dispute. Drugging. Emotional and cognitive issues (childhood). Kidnapping, confinement (room). Loss of child (illness; disappearance). Loss of sibling (as child). Miscarriage (memory). Murder. Parental abandonment. Pregnancy (forced; complications). Psychopathic behaviour. Stalking. Stroke (elderly parent). Suicidal planning, suicide. Torture. Toxic relationship.
Rep: British. Irish British. American British. Cis. Hetero. Freckled, pale, tawny skin tones.
📚 Format: Kindle
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking
Moderate: Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To be honest, I can’t figure out how this became a NYT Bestseller. The tenses jump around, there are some editing flaws, and the use of “it” and “that” took me out of the story. Many chapters began as if I was reading a grocery list and then there were multiple instances where the author broke the cardinal rule of “show, don’t tell.” Overall, I gave it 1.5 stars because the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading but the twists were easy to figure out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Kidnapping