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dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A solid mystery with a messed up twist per usual with Lisa Jewel and it mostly worked! The narrator did a great job with different voices and accents too.
My biggest issue:Floyd and Noelle weren’t properly held accountable. Floyd “accidentally” killed Noelle after finding out she kidnapped Ellie, and that Poppy wasn’t his biological daughter. He just ran away from Laurel and Poppy and ended his life instead of facing some consequences! And it frustrating for me, to see that Floyd was selfish till the very end, because Poppy loved him being her father! Maybe in some weird alternative he could’ve still been involved? But he took the selfish way out and poor Poppy has to suffer.
My second issue was that Laurel doesn’t really seem to care for her 2 kids who were still alive. She compares Ellie to Hannah FAR too often, and doesn’t talk to her son. I wish she had some sort of reckoning earlier in the book, and I wish Hannah confronted her about it. But I’m glad her ex-Paul did. Because Laurel kept seeing herself as the only one suffering but like Paul said, she abandoned her family once Ellie disappeared.
Other than that, this was another solid mystery.
My biggest issue:
My second issue was that Laurel doesn’t really seem to care for her 2 kids who were still alive. She compares Ellie to Hannah FAR too often, and doesn’t talk to her son. I wish she had some sort of reckoning earlier in the book, and I wish Hannah confronted her about it. But I’m glad her ex-Paul did. Because Laurel kept seeing herself as the only one suffering but like Paul said, she abandoned her family once Ellie disappeared.
Other than that, this was another solid mystery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping
Moderate: Gaslighting, Abandonment
Minor: Suicide, Murder
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
No
I found the ending predictable, but the character development and writing were really enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Miscarriage
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Violence
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide
adventurous
challenging
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
An enjoyable thriller, that despite being predictable, remained an engaging read.
Whilst none of the characters are lovable in the traditional sense they are well explored which adds depth to the story.
The ending is what both Laurel and Poppy deserved but I couldn't help feeling some sympathy for Floyd. A good entry thriller, but if you enjoy shocking twists and turns maybe give this one a miss.
Whilst none of the characters are lovable in the traditional sense they are well explored which adds depth to the story.
The ending is what both Laurel and Poppy deserved but I couldn't help feeling some sympathy for Floyd. A good entry thriller, but if you enjoy shocking twists and turns maybe give this one a miss.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Suicide
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’ll start off by saying that the majority of this read for me was gripping and fabulously dark. It was chilling in a way that wasn’t too over the top which I like - for example when Noelle says that she leaves the basement but doesn’t go back for a really really long time - the way that was worded was perfect.
But it does fall short on a few things. Some of it is a bit far fetched and happens too quickly - for example we find out that Ellie is dead very early on (definitely could have been avoided) and why would Noelle’s mum suddenly go into a deep convo about her private relationship with her daughter and her disappearance with a total stranger or Floyd realising everything was going wrong so admitted it all and then killed himself in the same day (also was Laurel and Poppy meant to just go to the Christmas Eve party and act as if the situation was completely normal?)
I also wish there was more of a twist - I felt so excited by all the what-ifs and how it all tied together but it was quite drawn out so by the time we find out exactly what happened it falls slightly flat, sucking out the tension that was in previous chapters. And don’t get my started on that epilogue 🫠 the final thing that I didn’t really enjoy was the switching of people narrating the story - it’s interesting because although I liked hearing the situation from different perspectives, it didn’t flow well in the end
But it does fall short on a few things. Some of it is a bit far fetched and happens too quickly - for example we find out that Ellie is dead very early on (definitely could have been avoided) and why would Noelle’s mum suddenly go into a deep convo about her private relationship with her daughter and her disappearance with a total stranger or Floyd realising everything was going wrong so admitted it all and then killed himself in the same day (also was Laurel and Poppy meant to just go to the Christmas Eve party and act as if the situation was completely normal?)
I also wish there was more of a twist - I felt so excited by all the what-ifs and how it all tied together but it was quite drawn out so by the time we find out exactly what happened it falls slightly flat, sucking out the tension that was in previous chapters. And don’t get my started on that epilogue 🫠 the final thing that I didn’t really enjoy was the switching of people narrating the story - it’s interesting because although I liked hearing the situation from different perspectives, it didn’t flow well in the end
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping
Moderate: Death, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy
Minor: Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Death of parent
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Stalking
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Suicide
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was a good well written fast read. Only reason I didn’t give it four stars is that I felt the ending wrapped up almost too perfectly for how horrific the dark parts were.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Murder
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
I enjoyed reading this book, although I figured out what had happened and put the pieces together very quickly. I believe that might have been intentional though. I felt so many emotions reading this and it definitely had some very dark parts. I was shedding some tears at the end of it. Overall a great read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Suicide, Kidnapping