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raelle37's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book kept me engaged from beginning to end. Some of the twists were truly unexpected (even if the official summary is spoiler-ridden). The journey of an aspiring writer who has her world quickly implode around her will have you wondering who is behind everything and how all the threads weave together.
There are some moments of confusion or where characters act in ways that require you to really suspend your disbelief. The time skips toward the end felt a bit disjointed. Overall though, I was able to follow and stay engaged throughout.
There are some moments of confusion or where characters act in ways that require you to really suspend your disbelief. The time skips toward the end felt a bit disjointed. Overall though, I was able to follow and stay engaged throughout.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Murder
Minor: Grief, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide
fkshg8465's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Sorry needed to be tighter. Too many loose strands, and too many open questions as a result.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Narrator Rating: 4.0 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Cursing
Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, Confinement, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, and Violence
Minor: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
katie_lacour's review
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The plot line of this book is so crazy it’s almost believable. Theo, a law school dropout and aspiring author, meets and becomes friends with published author Dan. Dan’s experience and insight has Theo well on the path to finishing her book and getting published when Theo finds Dan, dead. Now Theo, her roommate lawyer brother, and “researcher” Mac (with his odd family) must find out who the real killer is when everyone is too eager to look at the trio.
The plot line of this book is so crazy it’s almost believable. Theo, a law school dropout and aspiring author, meets and becomes friends with published author Dan. Dan’s experience and insight has Theo well on the path to finishing her book and getting published when Theo finds Dan, dead. Now Theo, her roommate lawyer brother, and “researcher” Mac (with his odd family) must find out who the real killer is when everyone is too eager to look at the trio.
I enjoyed how the book shows how the manipulation of one person’s story can change an entire narrative.
Reading about the story in Lawrence was surreal and cool as someone who has lived there; the depiction was pretty spot on and I liked how the author contrasted leftist lawrence with the far right conspiracy theorists.
The depiction of ideology was humorous and ominous but also I felt like it could have been really cool to show it even more from an insider perspective to almost convince the reader and “radicalize” them.
I was definitely bouncing between character to character to see who the murderer was. Any good mystery book should have you paranoid to the culprit and the author successfully accomplished this!
Sometimes the characters seemed a bit dumb and gullible but in some ways it was enjoyable because it was a classic moment where the audience is shouting at the fictional characters “don’t trust them!!!” However, Theo in particular was too trusting and naïve to me considering her friend had just been murdered.
The outsider Australian perspective on guns and the far right was funny to me. Furthermore, the inclusion of cults was so interesting (Mac’s family, theo’s parents, and minotaur).
At the end, would have been nice to have more closure or have a more fleshed out conclusion. I’m not sure if I enjoyed the romance, as it felt somewhat like an afterthought. If there was more leading up to it I would have enjoyed it more, but otherwise it felt a little goofy for the instant bonding—although of course there is a trauma bond to consider.
The police was so useless which was so irritating, while I know the police might not be that effective in real life it seemed unbelievable just how useless they were! But again, this helps to add to the plot and build the tension of the storyline.
I enjoyed this murder mystery, and I would definitely be interested in reading more books by the author!
CW: Childhood SA, Gaslighting, Cults, Murder, Guns, and Abduction.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Murder
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