Scan barcode
thetearex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Child death, Stalking, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Incest, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
gabriellesimpson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, and Stalking
Minor: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
emkrob's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Death, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Violence, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Torture, Death of parent, and Confinement
illiteratewench's review against another edition
4.5
The only reason this isn't a 5 star is that I'm sure sure some of the themes hold up under lots of critical thought and analysis. It was for sure a 5 star experience, I stayed up to finish it and didn't want to put it down. It's twisty and turny and you're never sure whether or not Josie and her story should be trusted at face value or not.
The things I don't think hold up with deeper thought are
Josie's husband Walter is 27 years older than her. They have been together since she was 15 and he was 42. He was a contractor doing electrical work on her family estate, as well as dating her mother. He was already cheating on his wife and two sons with Josie's mother, eventually leaving them for Josie.
Josie twists many things about Walter but these are facts that, to me, are irredeemable. The fact that Jewell tries to pull a "but he's actually a really good guy!" on us with a man who cheated on his wife, then cheated on both his wife and mistress with the mistress's underage daughter who he marries and has another 2 kids with, is insane. Especially when the mistress, Pat, claims that Josie (again, her 15 year old daughter) was a sociopath who seduced Walter to steal him from her. I'm sorry but a grown man cannot be seduced by a child unless he is a p*do. End of story.
So yeah, that leaves me really conflicted with how to rate this. But again, the experience was just so fun and juicy at the time. My rating might be inflated because I don't really read thriller, so maybe one day I'll look back critically and bump this down, but at the moment I still really enjoyed the book and the experience, but I would hesitate to recommend it for this reason.
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual content, Rape, and Stalking
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit and Bullying
kaleydearest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Pedophilia and Death
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
allisonsmith120's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Alcoholism
Moderate: Murder, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Infidelity, and Sexual content
pushergurl's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Alcoholism
nevar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Murder, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Medical content, Confinement, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Emotional abuse
david_slack110507's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
norwegianforestreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cursing, Excrement, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia