Scan barcode
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
rochelleisreading's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Violence, Pedophilia, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Kidnapping and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
mads_jpg's review
- 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
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.
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
sebradley29'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
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
jennabeck13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, and Medical content
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
What a mind f*ck! Totally unreliable narrators. Yes, narrators. The events in the end are hard to unravel. The only one I believed was Alix. I know what I think happened but am I right? Who knows! Only the author. It wasn't super predictable it was just twisty AF.
Overall a good book.
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, Death, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Infidelity, and Sexual content