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david_slack110507's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My first Lisa Jewell book and it did not disappoint. I listened to this rather than reading it and I feel like listening to the audiobook version made for a better experience of the book as not only did it add voices to the characters and gave them additional personality but it also allowed for the podcast transcripts, interview clips, and parts of the documentary to all come to life better than they would have on the page with some really good sound design.
This was a very messed up story that focuses on the blurred lines of what is true and what is false and how far someone will go in lying to themselves, so they believe it, particularly with Josie in the ending. Josie was an interesting character to watch as when from her perspective she repeatedly lies to the audience and shapes the narrative in a way that suits her and what she truly believes is the case and it is only later on that we start to be encouraged to question whether or not what she is saying is truthful and has any merit to it. Alix felt like at times she was a representation of the audience who are trying to piece together Josie's story while also eventually coming to point out the lies in what is considered to be the truth. I felt like the two were very interesting characters to follow as they interweave in and out of one another's lives. Josie's story of being a victim, whether her narrative is real or not, does not place her as a villain because of the things that she has said has happened to her and the subject matter is dealt with in an appropriate fashion without being written off when it comes to light that at least certain things are proven to be not true.
The ending of the book was a major highlight for me as it seemingly wraps up the story in a clear and concise fashion in which every major plot point or secret is explained and its importance is revealed only for the final chapter to be from Josie's perspective to flip the narrative on its head due to how it questions the finality of the ending and whether or not the narrative has been properly revealed or manipulated due to who is control of it. In the ending, Josie seemingly believes that she is innocent and has done nothing wrong including the murder of her daughter, Roxy's, friend Brooke which she blames on her daughter. I liked this to be the ending chapter of the book as not only is it a good representation of the theme of control of a narrative but it also ends with the 'true' narrative of the book being up to the reader as to whether they believe what was accepted as the general truth by the majority of the public, the truth believed by Josie (that is most likely a narrative she created to avoid taking the blame) or maybe a bit of both (e.g. the murder of Brooke could be what Josie said that it was not actually her but her daughter and so she along with her family helped cover it up linking back to what Walter feared earlier in the book about something being revealed to the police). Even though it appears that it has an open and shut case ending, it could also be picked apart and given a different interpretation depending on the reader which made me appreciate the writing even more.
Overall, I really enjoyed my first Lisa Jewell book, and it makes me excited for whenever I get around to reading the other books I have of hers as well as the rest of her books. The twists and turns that were consistent throughout kept me invested and the characters particularly our main ones were very interesting in themselves.
This was a very messed up story that focuses on the blurred lines of what is true and what is false and how far someone will go in lying to themselves, so they believe it, particularly with Josie in the ending. Josie was an interesting character to watch as when from her perspective she repeatedly lies to the audience and shapes the narrative in a way that suits her and what she truly believes is the case and it is only later on that we start to be encouraged to question whether or not what she is saying is truthful and has any merit to it. Alix felt like at times she was a representation of the audience who are trying to piece together Josie's story while also eventually coming to point out the lies in what is considered to be the truth. I felt like the two were very interesting characters to follow as they interweave in and out of one another's lives. Josie's story of being a victim, whether her narrative is real or not, does not place her as a villain because of the things that she has said has happened to her and the subject matter is dealt with in an appropriate fashion without being written off when it comes to light that at least certain things are proven to be not true.
The ending of the book was a major highlight for me as it seemingly wraps up the story in a clear and concise fashion in which every major plot point or secret is explained and its importance is revealed only for the final chapter to be from Josie's perspective to flip the narrative on its head due to how it questions the finality of the ending and whether or not the narrative has been properly revealed or manipulated due to who is control of it. In the ending, Josie seemingly believes that she is innocent and has done nothing wrong including the murder of her daughter, Roxy's, friend Brooke which she blames on her daughter. I liked this to be the ending chapter of the book as not only is it a good representation of the theme of control of a narrative but it also ends with the 'true' narrative of the book being up to the reader as to whether they believe what was accepted as the general truth by the majority of the public, the truth believed by Josie (that is most likely a narrative she created to avoid taking the blame) or maybe a bit of both (e.g. the murder of Brooke could be what Josie said that it was not actually her but her daughter and so she along with her family helped cover it up linking back to what Walter feared earlier in the book about something being revealed to the police). Even though it appears that it has an open and shut case ending, it could also be picked apart and given a different interpretation depending on the reader which made me appreciate the writing even more.
Overall, I really enjoyed my first Lisa Jewell book, and it makes me excited for whenever I get around to reading the other books I have of hers as well as the rest of her books. The twists and turns that were consistent throughout kept me invested and the characters particularly our main ones were very interesting in themselves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Grief, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Addiction, Kidnapping, Sexism, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Bullying, Confinement, Misogyny, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mads_jpg's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I have a lot of thoughts about this book.
The positives:
The positives:
- I liked the non-linear storytelling through the Netflix clips that start to reveal certain details.
- The story was interesting enough that I read it quite quickly despite the length.
The negatives (Spoilers!):
- The book seems to paint Josie as a man-hating feminist, which doesn't sit right when she then goes on to kill the only men in the story.
- The author said in the acknowledgements that she wrote this book in less than a year, and it shows, because given the inclusion of something as sensitive as pedophilia she did not portray it in a responsible way.
- I can't tell if the book is a commentary on or a victim of the idea of the 'perfect victim' who never does anything wrong.
- The way the author described Josie's grooming by Walter was awful in almost every case, either saying she "allowed herself to be groomed" or that she in fact wasn't groomed at all and actually seduced Walter herself. Which still wouldn't make it ok since the adult is ultimately responsible for shutting that kind of thing down.
- Every character is incredibly unlikable, and their actions make no sense. E.g Pat who is reviled as this full of life, go getting woman just let's her 16-year-old daughter take her 40-year-old boyfriend from her? And doesn't do anything to stop it?
- Why the hell is Alix still working on the podcast after Nathan goes missing AND after he's confirmed murdered?!?!?! I was reading this assuming the police/documentary filmmakers had gotten a copy of the podcast, not that she'd RELEASED THE DAMN THING.
- Alix mourns Josie's victims as people who were killed "for no good reason at all", and that was a big issue for me. I really did feel like I had no idea why she would go this far, and the last minute twist in the epilogue doesn't account for that.
- I'm all for an unreliable narrator story, but at no point did it feel like the reader had any chance at following what was really going on, and the ambiguous ending made that even more frustrating, but that's probably just a me thing and not a legitimate issue.
- It was also bloody annoying how many times the author said Josie could hear the sound of Erin's headphones through the door, there's literally no way that's possible without Erin sustaining serious ear damage, I'm sorry but no.
Overall this felt like a dangerously careless representation of some very serious issues given the amount of trigger warnings I had to add to this review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence
prairieraven's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Addiction, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Death, Stalking, Child death, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Classism, Incest, and Toxic friendship
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