Reviews

Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough

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bookapotamus's review against another edition

5.0

It's been a long time since I was so riveted by a book that I cancelled plans! THIS was definitely deserving of a wine and pizza night vs. girls night out! (haha sorry ladies!) I was thoroughly impressed with how dark and disturbing the suspense was, and rarely anymore do I question 'whodunit'. This book had me shocked at twists and turns, entranced by the suspense, and thoroughly creeped out at the intricate mind games.

The story starts off pretty tame: Lisa is quietly living a fairly dull life with just her daughter Ava (Dad is out of the picture), and she doesn't do much more than go to work, or occasionally hang with her best friend slash co-worker Marilyn, and that leaves all the free time in the world to shelter and protect her daughter. Ava is SO tired of her overbearing mother, but you have to wonder - why is she this way? Is Lisa hiding something? But is her helicopter parenting warranted - is Ava hiding something as well?

It seems that everyone in this story has something the don't want out in the light. For fear of embarrassment, anger, fear, or solely just wanting to keep old secrets buried... but as all good secrets do, they have a habit of coming out and ruining lives. And that my friends, is what makes a good story! But how far will a mother go to protect her child - so far it pushes them away? How far will anyone go to hide a secret so dark, it will unravel everything. But sometimes the truth might just be better off buried.

I had a lot of fun reading this. It had me guessing for awhile and although some things I figured out, or thought might happen, I really was never sure. Some of the book was pretty disturbing and it wove intricate stories and details that really had my attention hooked from the very beginning. It's one of those books where you lose sleep because "just one more chapter..!" and you can't, and don't want to, put it down. Loved it - highly recommend.

sundeviljewels's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 is my compromise. I was engaged, and then disengaged. It is one of those books where each chapter is a character, and either in the present, Now, or past before, or in 1989.

Many, many sad things happened that you have to use your inferencing skills to figure out as they happened.

kthomas4415's review against another edition

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3.0

Somewhat predictable and a lot far fetched. Entertaining enough but not keeping this one.

sci_mom's review against another edition

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3.0

I received this book from a Goodreads Giveaway. Well, I liked this one more than Behind Her Eyes, but not by much. At least the main character in this one wasn't a complete moron. However, there were still points that were remarkably unbelievable. For example, would an over-protective mother really not insist on meeting the mother of one of her daughter's best friends before letting her hang out at that girl's house all the time? That alone would've cut this book in half. This author is obviously talented and knows how to write a suspenseful and intricate tale; I just wish she'd work harder to make sure all of the necessary plot devices are reasonable and realistic. I will probably read one more of her books because I find her writing style to be oddly compelling, but it'll have to be at least a four star for me to go beyond that.

cannyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

alliepeduto's review against another edition

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4.0

I’m totally torn between 3 and 4 stars on this book...on one hand I was pretty bored through the first half, and I definitely wasn’t surprised at the ending. But on the other hand it was really well written and the pacing was insane. I flew through to the end because I just had to know what happened! So ultimately I really enjoyed this, and I would recommend it to my fellow thriller lovers since it’s a fun read. Apparently it’s sort of based on a true story, which I always find intriguing (link below for those who are curious!)

https://www.bustle.com/p/cross-her-heart-author-sarah-pinborough-on-how-she-subverts-the-fridging-trope-in-her-thriller-novels-11901910