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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
kept my suspense up until the end, albeit it was a little predictable. overall enjoyable!
DNF @ 48%.
Have you ever wanted to spend time in the shoes of a bored, friendless, directionless rich woman on maternity leave as she waits for her husband to come home and their baby to be born? Well, do I have a book for you. This really makes you feel the dull tediousness of nothing happening for days on end.
Helen is a pathetic drip of a human who refuses to make the most obvious connections even when she finds them literally in front of her. I feel like her husband could show up, hands covered in blood, gashes over his face, and tell her, "I killed someone," and her response would be "Oh, well, that doesn't seem like you. I must be mistaken."
Helen sadly believes her best friend is her sister-in-law Serena. It is clear that Serena finds Helen an annoying clinger, and who can blame her? It's true! Sad, lonely Helen attends a birthing class that her husband, Daniel, was supposed to attend with her, as well as Serena and her husband. Nobody wants to spend more time with her than absolutely necessary, so everyone pleads "work" and "other engagements" and no-shows. Helen is therefore a soft target for the bold, charismatic Rachel. It is immediately obvious to anyone with a brain (which doesn't include Helen!) that either Rachel is stalking and befriending her for a reason, or is a generally unstable person. But Helen is a true pushover and cannot say no to a single thing Rachel asks and allows Rachel to worm herself into all aspects of her life. Meanwhile, Helen continues to lead her life of quiet desperation in her big lonely childhood home once owned by her famous architect father. Her husband Daniel is seemingly doting, but also brushes off all her concerns and is out of the house working most of the time, so is immediately suspicious. Helen jokes that Daniel, an architect himself, married her for her house. This is one of those jokes people make because there is a bitter kernel of truth within it and the speaker publicly acknowledges it with a laugh to pretend to themselves that it cannot possibly be real. Rachel pops up in the background to be increasingly suspicious and strange.
Along with Helen's POV, we are also subject to Serena's catty perspective, which adds little to the narrative. And Helen's other sister-in-law (longtime girlfriend of the blacksheep youngest brother), Katie, is a reporter who occasionally appears for POV chapters to highlight the rape trial of two rich, connected boys, which is clearly going to have some connection to Helen and her clan.
The premise could be thrilling, but it is so bogged down in domestic drama I gave up. There were exactly 0 dead bodies by the 48% point, Helen was still refusing to take any action, and there was not even a straight-up blackmail threat (it's clear that Rachel IS planning to blackmail someone, but I could not even care about who).
I skipped to the last two chapters, and apparently something finally happens after the 50% mark. But since the last two chapters are such blatant exposition of explaining exactly what had happened and why, I was content with knowing I didn't miss anything by jumping to the end. It also reassured me that Helen was a drip to the bitter end, and I am glad I did not have to suffer through her perspective any longer.
Have you ever wanted to spend time in the shoes of a bored, friendless, directionless rich woman on maternity leave as she waits for her husband to come home and their baby to be born? Well, do I have a book for you. This really makes you feel the dull tediousness of nothing happening for days on end.
Helen is a pathetic drip of a human who refuses to make the most obvious connections even when she finds them literally in front of her. I feel like her husband could show up, hands covered in blood, gashes over his face, and tell her, "I killed someone," and her response would be "Oh, well, that doesn't seem like you. I must be mistaken."
Helen sadly believes her best friend is her sister-in-law Serena. It is clear that Serena finds Helen an annoying clinger, and who can blame her? It's true! Sad, lonely Helen attends a birthing class that her husband, Daniel, was supposed to attend with her, as well as Serena and her husband. Nobody wants to spend more time with her than absolutely necessary, so everyone pleads "work" and "other engagements" and no-shows. Helen is therefore a soft target for the bold, charismatic Rachel. It is immediately obvious to anyone with a brain (which doesn't include Helen!) that either Rachel is stalking and befriending her for a reason, or is a generally unstable person. But Helen is a true pushover and cannot say no to a single thing Rachel asks and allows Rachel to worm herself into all aspects of her life. Meanwhile, Helen continues to lead her life of quiet desperation in her big lonely childhood home once owned by her famous architect father. Her husband Daniel is seemingly doting, but also brushes off all her concerns and is out of the house working most of the time, so is immediately suspicious. Helen jokes that Daniel, an architect himself, married her for her house. This is one of those jokes people make because there is a bitter kernel of truth within it and the speaker publicly acknowledges it with a laugh to pretend to themselves that it cannot possibly be real. Rachel pops up in the background to be increasingly suspicious and strange.
Along with Helen's POV, we are also subject to Serena's catty perspective, which adds little to the narrative. And Helen's other sister-in-law (longtime girlfriend of the blacksheep youngest brother), Katie, is a reporter who occasionally appears for POV chapters to highlight the rape trial of two rich, connected boys, which is clearly going to have some connection to Helen and her clan.
The premise could be thrilling, but it is so bogged down in domestic drama I gave up. There were exactly 0 dead bodies by the 48% point, Helen was still refusing to take any action, and there was not even a straight-up blackmail threat (it's clear that Rachel IS planning to blackmail someone, but I could not even care about who).
I skipped to the last two chapters, and apparently something finally happens after the 50% mark. But since the last two chapters are such blatant exposition of explaining exactly what had happened and why, I was content with knowing I didn't miss anything by jumping to the end. It also reassured me that Helen was a drip to the bitter end, and I am glad I did not have to suffer through her perspective any longer.
another good thriller! loved how all the characters were played out
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I do like a psychological thriller with twists and turns and this is an above average one, albeit not a world beater. I do wonder in places if the authors of these books assume only people who have lived or still live in London will read it. Because if one doesn’t have a basic grasp of London geography, part of the plot twist will make no sense at all. However, I enjoyed it and thought its pace particularly effective, and I found myself interested in the characters. Doubt it will win any awards, but if psychological thrillers are your thing, you will likely enjoy this one.
I'm obviously in the minority here, but this book just really annoyed me. The writing is ok, but everything else is...not.
First of all, it's way too long for the plot (384 pages!). Too many unnecessary details and descriptions that do nothing but throw off the pacing and ruin any kind of suspense. It could easily be cut down a hundred or so pages without missing anything vital.
Secondly, the plot itself. I'm all for a good unrealistic plot if it's well done, but this was not it. None of the actions of the various characters felt even vaguely plausible, and taken all together it just ended up becoming silly.
Finally, the ending. It annoys me to no end when a writer needs to use the final chapters to explain and fill in the plot holes. There were so many things the reader had no way of figuring out, and that just needed to be tied up with an explanation at the end.
I guess this continues the streak of hyped books I've been wanting to read and then been very underwhelmed by (The Maid, Anthem, Reckless Girls).
First of all, it's way too long for the plot (384 pages!). Too many unnecessary details and descriptions that do nothing but throw off the pacing and ruin any kind of suspense. It could easily be cut down a hundred or so pages without missing anything vital.
Secondly, the plot itself. I'm all for a good unrealistic plot if it's well done, but this was not it. None of the actions of the various characters felt even vaguely plausible, and taken all together it just ended up becoming silly.
Finally, the ending. It annoys me to no end when a writer needs to use the final chapters to explain and fill in the plot holes. There were so many things the reader had no way of figuring out, and that just needed to be tied up with an explanation at the end.
I guess this continues the streak of hyped books I've been wanting to read and then been very underwhelmed by (The Maid, Anthem, Reckless Girls).
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A stiff start and then ramps up! I re read the last chapter several times. Some extremely unrealistic parts!!