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caprichosbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Blood, Alcoholism, Murder, and Rape
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
2.5
"One missing man. One body in the lake. We hardly need Miss Marple, do we?"
It's true that I've had mixed reactions to Clare Mackintosh's writing so far, but I absolutely loved my time with Hostage and I was hoping for a repeat experience with The Last Party. I was intrigued by the premise with the party, the lake setting and a murder mystery... And I fully expected to have a great time reading this first book of a new series. Unfortunately I ended up struggling considerably instead. I still like the premise and the setting is without doubt very well described. This story had so much potential, but in the end it just all fell flat for me. What didn't work then? First of all, The Last Party was both way too slow for me and also way overlong. This story could have been easily at least 100 pages shorter, and the plot would have been a lot tigher this way. As it is, there are way too many different characters/POVs and way too many descriptions along the way, and this made the story drag considerably. Add the fact that every single character is unlikeable and only becomes worse once you get to know them better, and I honestly couldn't care less what happened to any of them. The whole mystery around who killed Rhys didn't seem present at all; instead the focus was on just how many characters were hiding something. It was just overkill; so many characters cheating on each other, so many horrible secrets, so many 'revelations' stacked up that you just become immune to them all. This is without doubt my least favorite Clare Mackintosh book so far, and I will definitely not be continuing this series.
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Gaslighting, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia
cassiereadsbooks_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Rape, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Sexual violence
kimveach's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Classism, Self harm, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug use, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Violence, Medical content, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Medical trauma, and Rape
Minor: Child abuse
xlivinglikejen's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Cancer, Rape, and Toxic relationship
juliaaa02's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Rape
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Racism, Incest, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Stalking, Sexual assault, and Homophobia
Minor: Terminal illness