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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I wanted to like this book so much because I was judging the cover, but I ended up really disappointed. The story felt flat and the twists were kind of confusing to follow and also not that interesting. Overall I would say this book is a pass
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner
Thank you @netgalley and @gallerybooks for this ARC that published on 1/25! What a wild ride!
Helen is 24 weeks pregnant when she meets a new friend, Rachel, at a birthing class. Helen is lonely and cautious, but eager to have a new friend at a time when her friends and family have not been there for her. Helen has an idyllic life from the outside and we quickly learn the layers of dysfunction and mistrust within her circle- her husband Daniel, brother, Rory, sister in law, Serena, and others. As the story progresses, Rachel is clearly not just looking for an innocent new friendship and things take a dangerous turn.
I enjoyed the fast paced ending and the twist I didn’t see coming. This was a creative premise I haven’t seen in a thriller before, especially for a debut novel! There are some heavy trigger warnings- pregnancy loss, sexual assault, and depression, that were a bit hard to read at times. I did find many of the main characters very grating- I’m sure that was intentional by the author! Reasoning becomes more clear at the very end, which does make it feel more worth it. Pick this book up for a quick fast paced thriller (but maybe not if you’re currently pregnant
Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner
Thank you @netgalley and @gallerybooks for this ARC that published on 1/25! What a wild ride!
Helen is 24 weeks pregnant when she meets a new friend, Rachel, at a birthing class. Helen is lonely and cautious, but eager to have a new friend at a time when her friends and family have not been there for her. Helen has an idyllic life from the outside and we quickly learn the layers of dysfunction and mistrust within her circle- her husband Daniel, brother, Rory, sister in law, Serena, and others. As the story progresses, Rachel is clearly not just looking for an innocent new friendship and things take a dangerous turn.
I enjoyed the fast paced ending and the twist I didn’t see coming. This was a creative premise I haven’t seen in a thriller before, especially for a debut novel! There are some heavy trigger warnings- pregnancy loss, sexual assault, and depression, that were a bit hard to read at times. I did find many of the main characters very grating- I’m sure that was intentional by the author! Reasoning becomes more clear at the very end, which does make it feel more worth it. Pick this book up for a quick fast paced thriller (but maybe not if you’re currently pregnant
Enjoyed this domestic suspense! Several related characters, multiple POV, short chapters. Some plot elements were predictable, and the main character calls her parents “Mummy and Daddy” as an adult, which is slightly odd to me. However, I still enjoyed this one a lot and found myself eager to get back to it when I wasn’t reading.
This was not it. It was so drawn out and the characters were exasperating! There was no elegance to the telling of this story and it honestly felt like there was a certain word count that needed to be met, with all the unnecessary red herrings and round about ways of getting to the point. When the point is gotten to it is just told. Just this happened, blah blah the end. Ugh!
TW: pregnancy loss
This was a good thriller! I knew something was going to happen so it kept me wanting to read. I enjoyed the multiple POVs, and the ending had me wanting more.
This was a good thriller! I knew something was going to happen so it kept me wanting to read. I enjoyed the multiple POVs, and the ending had me wanting more.
This was an average popcorn thriller. It didn't feel like anything new, but was enjoyable to escape into for a few hours.
Helen meets Rachel at her prenatal classes and befriends her. Helen is lonely. Her husband works too much, she never sees her friends, and her mental health is shaky after suffering quite a few miscarriages. Rachel is a mess. She's loud, drinks and smokes-while pregnant, and is oddly always around. When Rachel inserts herself more and more into Helen's life, things go awry.
There's not much to say about this book besides it's all been done before. If you are a thriller reader, nothing here should surprise you. The clues are all laid out in an obvious way. The characters aren't really likable, although they rarely are in these books. I did enjoy the structure of framing it around the pregnancy of the women. You can feel the tension increasing as we get closer to the due date. Seeing that this is a debut gives me hope for Katherine Faulkner's future. I see potential there. Her writing is atmospheric, detailed, and propulsive, but I hope she veers away from the predictable outcomes found in this book.
Helen meets Rachel at her prenatal classes and befriends her. Helen is lonely. Her husband works too much, she never sees her friends, and her mental health is shaky after suffering quite a few miscarriages. Rachel is a mess. She's loud, drinks and smokes-while pregnant, and is oddly always around. When Rachel inserts herself more and more into Helen's life, things go awry.
There's not much to say about this book besides it's all been done before. If you are a thriller reader, nothing here should surprise you. The clues are all laid out in an obvious way. The characters aren't really likable, although they rarely are in these books. I did enjoy the structure of framing it around the pregnancy of the women. You can feel the tension increasing as we get closer to the due date. Seeing that this is a debut gives me hope for Katherine Faulkner's future. I see potential there. Her writing is atmospheric, detailed, and propulsive, but I hope she veers away from the predictable outcomes found in this book.
I enjoyed the different points of view and the twisty plot. The ending definitely threw me for a loop, but I was just not sold on the harboring of such anger for random bystanders that was the driving force of the story.
I kept wanting a little bit more, but not in the satisfying way. It was an enjoyable read but the mystery felt a little too cliché.