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outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Six friends, who have been friends since their schooldays, decide to have one last weekend of unencumbered celebration before marriages & children take over. Stuart, Michelle, Matt, Alexandra, Chris, & Nichola go to a 90s music festival but shortly after retiring on the Saturday evening, they are awakened by the shouts of one of their number. Rushing to the rescue, they find Stuart in the nearby woods being attacked by a man wielding a dangerous weapon, so without thinking the other five pile in, & the man ends up dead. Reactions are split but as a group, they decide to bury him & leave, but on the way back to their campsite, they come across another body. A young man has been killed & next to the body is a red candle - they realise that they must have killed a notorious serial killer 'Candle Man' thought to be responsible for a lot of disappearances over the years, leaving behind a red candle. For reasons they decide to move this second body, but along the way, it disappears & the group head home hoping that they have got away cleanly.
Two of the three relationships of the group break up soon after with only Chris & Nichola staying together. A year later, it seems as if against all odds they have gotten away with things, when Matt is contacted by Stuart's sister to let him know that Stuart is dead. The remaining five friends get together at the funeral for the first time following that fateful weekend, & they wonder what happened. It soon becomes clear that Stuart had become obsessed about the events of the previous year & ended up taking his own life, & the friends are again split between those who want to go to the police & those who don't. It isn't until after the funeral when Matt visits Stuart's place with Stuart's sister that he notices that there is a red candle on the table. Did Stuart take his own life or is the Candle Killer still alive? Are they all in danger?
The book started off a bit slow tbh & I almost DNF'd it, but decided to carry on. I'm glad I did as this was a fairly good read. It's more a psychological thriller than a gory read, although some parts of it drag a little for a thriller. The reader sees it all mainly through the eyes of Matt, who has drifted into ennui following what happened, but all six of the friends have been affected in one way or another. Matt's relationship with Alexandra, which had been on the verge of engagement, crumbled & it looks like there's little hope of reconciliation. The narrative is mainly from the present but with some chapters from an unnamed character which are set in the past of the friend group, & the ending was quite good with an extra twist in the epilogue. The problem is it's only 'fairly good', for me it's missing that something that would have pushed the rating up higher. Reading it, I didn't feel the sense of urgency I expected in a group possibly being targeted by a killer - I think Matt's sense of inertia was catching whilst reading this.
Two of the three relationships of the group break up soon after with only Chris & Nichola staying together. A year later, it seems as if against all odds they have gotten away with things, when Matt is contacted by Stuart's sister to let him know that Stuart is dead. The remaining five friends get together at the funeral for the first time following that fateful weekend, & they wonder what happened. It soon becomes clear that Stuart had become obsessed about the events of the previous year & ended up taking his own life, & the friends are again split between those who want to go to the police & those who don't. It isn't until after the funeral when Matt visits Stuart's place with Stuart's sister that he notices that there is a red candle on the table. Did Stuart take his own life or is the Candle Killer still alive? Are they all in danger?
The book started off a bit slow tbh & I almost DNF'd it, but decided to carry on. I'm glad I did as this was a fairly good read. It's more a psychological thriller than a gory read, although some parts of it drag a little for a thriller. The reader sees it all mainly through the eyes of Matt, who has drifted into ennui following what happened, but all six of the friends have been affected in one way or another. Matt's relationship with Alexandra, which had been on the verge of engagement, crumbled & it looks like there's little hope of reconciliation. The narrative is mainly from the present but with some chapters from an unnamed character which are set in the past of the friend group, & the ending was quite good with an extra twist in the epilogue. The problem is it's only 'fairly good', for me it's missing that something that would have pushed the rating up higher. Reading it, I didn't feel the sense of urgency I expected in a group possibly being targeted by a killer - I think Matt's sense of inertia was catching whilst reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Murder and Violence
sharongrigg's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I thought I had figured out who the serial killer was, but I was wrong. The twists, murders and characters were equally creepy and interesting. There are a few bits of writing that maybe needed better editing that just took the edge off here and there...
allia_kennedy's review
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
diary_of_a_reading_addict's review
4.0
Now if you've seen I Know What You Did Last Summer you kind of know the plot to this. A group of childhood friends commit a murder and then decide to cover it up. Jump forward a year later and someone knows and is watching them.
I enjoyed this one, even though I did not like a single character. Not liking a character is fine for me this and I can understand why they are the way they are. Told through the eyes.of Matt we see how the group became friends and how the murder has affected their friendship. As a teenager of the 90's I enjoyed all the 90 references throughout this book and it definitely made me remember some songs I'd forgotten about!
I did not see the ending of this coming, which is not unusual, but I thought the author did a great job with providing a pretty convincing red herring in this one!
I enjoyed this one, even though I did not like a single character. Not liking a character is fine for me this and I can understand why they are the way they are. Told through the eyes.of Matt we see how the group became friends and how the murder has affected their friendship. As a teenager of the 90's I enjoyed all the 90 references throughout this book and it definitely made me remember some songs I'd forgotten about!
I did not see the ending of this coming, which is not unusual, but I thought the author did a great job with providing a pretty convincing red herring in this one!
jen567's review
2.0
Skin read - basic writing - storyline was okay but didn't feel invested in any of it
fionaaaaaa's review
2.0
2.5 stars for me. This wasn't gritty enough for me. It sounded my kind of book but it didn't really get there for me. It could have been super creepy and holding on tight to what would happen next but, for me it didn't do it. I think there for too much talk and not enough action. However I did like the end, once we got there.
thatbookishgem's review
3.0
On the whole, this was a decent thriller, if not a little long-winded at times. Whilst I largely enjoyed the plot, at a little over 400 pages it could easily had lost 200 of them, which would have kept the pace better – especially in the second half.
It started well. There was a real throwback vibe with the 90s music festival (I loved all the 90s TV and music references!) and I enjoyed the relationship with the six main friends, which felt mostly natural and easy to read.
The main event which results in the murder and cover up of a man was eventful, and decidedly creepy. I liked the slower pace here as it fully established the tension and fear of the group, and the true-crime fan in me liked the serial killer edge this section had. I also loved the setting: the forest at midnight. Perfect. A little cliched, maybe, but it felt believable and right for the tone of the novel.
Find the full review over on my blog: https://thatbookishgem.com/2021/05/07/review-the-six-by-luca-veste/#more-13279
It started well. There was a real throwback vibe with the 90s music festival (I loved all the 90s TV and music references!) and I enjoyed the relationship with the six main friends, which felt mostly natural and easy to read.
The main event which results in the murder and cover up of a man was eventful, and decidedly creepy. I liked the slower pace here as it fully established the tension and fear of the group, and the true-crime fan in me liked the serial killer edge this section had. I also loved the setting: the forest at midnight. Perfect. A little cliched, maybe, but it felt believable and right for the tone of the novel.
Find the full review over on my blog: https://thatbookishgem.com/2021/05/07/review-the-six-by-luca-veste/#more-13279
alisonannk's review
5.0
I absolutely flew through this book!
The writing style is so readable and the plot is fast paced, twisty, and full of little intriguing plot points that keep the reader immersed in the events.
The book relies on well written characters, and the dynamics between them. After a murder, they are forced to live with the event, and each character deals with it in their own way.
There are flash backs to when the group first meet in secondary school, and University, to help us understand the historic dynamics among the six friends. These flashbacks also serve to give us clues as to the events on the night of the murder and subsequent threats to their safety.
As it is told from the perspective of one of the group, Matt, we get insight into quite a lot, but not to the inside of the minds of the other friends. This leaves a lot of things open to interpretation/questioning.
It is what I definitely categorise as a page turner.
The writing style is so readable and the plot is fast paced, twisty, and full of little intriguing plot points that keep the reader immersed in the events.
The book relies on well written characters, and the dynamics between them. After a murder, they are forced to live with the event, and each character deals with it in their own way.
There are flash backs to when the group first meet in secondary school, and University, to help us understand the historic dynamics among the six friends. These flashbacks also serve to give us clues as to the events on the night of the murder and subsequent threats to their safety.
As it is told from the perspective of one of the group, Matt, we get insight into quite a lot, but not to the inside of the minds of the other friends. This leaves a lot of things open to interpretation/questioning.
It is what I definitely categorise as a page turner.
amysreading_nook's review
4.0
First of a big thank you to Dark Room Tours, and Simon Schuster Publishers for sending me a copy of this book and allowing me a place on the blog tour!All reviews and opinions discussed here are my own.
This is a book that from the first pages, the tension never stopped. It is a real psychological thriller and I honestly had so many different theories going on whilst reading this book and not one of them turned out to be right. The author goes back and forth between the characters childhoods and current days; it really adds a good dynamic to the story and makes you question things even further. The book is told solely from the perspective of Matt, one of the 6 main characters, and the whole time i was reading it I never knew if we could trust his perspective or if he was an unreliable narrator. His perspective is so all over the place and that really represents his state of mind at the time but also his own foggy memory. It adds a layer to the book that makes it interesting because you just never know who you can trust. It does make things a bit confusing at times, such as the initial fight where the man dies, and I honestly couldn't get my head around what happened but I definitely think that's reflective of the fact that Matt can't really remember what happened himself and so it is intended to be confusing.
I would say that I didn't overly connect with any of the characters? Aside from Alexandra being Matt's ex-girlfriend and Nicola being Chris's partner we learn very little about them and the same goes for Michelle. The female characters were very limited in their development which did make it hard at times to fully care about their experiences. I do think the group dynamics were interesting and I honestly distrusted every character at one point.
I think this was well paced and it was a real page-turned; I couldn't put it down once i'd started and I couldn't wait to get to the end to find out what was happening. I enjoyed Veste's writing style and also appreciated all of the 90s references.
I do think the book would have benefited in fleshing out the characters a bit more and allowing us to invest in them, so that the later plot aspects had more of a punch. Overall I did enjoy it and it kept me guessing right up until the end; I think the last twist was well done and something I didn't see coming!
This is a book that from the first pages, the tension never stopped. It is a real psychological thriller and I honestly had so many different theories going on whilst reading this book and not one of them turned out to be right. The author goes back and forth between the characters childhoods and current days; it really adds a good dynamic to the story and makes you question things even further. The book is told solely from the perspective of Matt, one of the 6 main characters, and the whole time i was reading it I never knew if we could trust his perspective or if he was an unreliable narrator. His perspective is so all over the place and that really represents his state of mind at the time but also his own foggy memory. It adds a layer to the book that makes it interesting because you just never know who you can trust. It does make things a bit confusing at times, such as the initial fight where the man dies, and I honestly couldn't get my head around what happened but I definitely think that's reflective of the fact that Matt can't really remember what happened himself and so it is intended to be confusing.
I would say that I didn't overly connect with any of the characters? Aside from Alexandra being Matt's ex-girlfriend and Nicola being Chris's partner we learn very little about them and the same goes for Michelle. The female characters were very limited in their development which did make it hard at times to fully care about their experiences. I do think the group dynamics were interesting and I honestly distrusted every character at one point.
I think this was well paced and it was a real page-turned; I couldn't put it down once i'd started and I couldn't wait to get to the end to find out what was happening. I enjoyed Veste's writing style and also appreciated all of the 90s references.
I do think the book would have benefited in fleshing out the characters a bit more and allowing us to invest in them, so that the later plot aspects had more of a punch. Overall I did enjoy it and it kept me guessing right up until the end; I think the last twist was well done and something I didn't see coming!