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docsol22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
itsjojo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“Do not claim that you are anything other than what you are. An evil motherfucking basic bitch.”
This was a wild ride. The audio was great but I almost wished I had read this one. I do historically love thrillers but I haven’t found one in a while that really had me on the edge of my seat. I’ll for sure be looking into more by this author.
This was a wild ride. The audio was great but I almost wished I had read this one. I do historically love thrillers but I haven’t found one in a while that really had me on the edge of my seat. I’ll for sure be looking into more by this author.
keeshareads's review against another edition
2.0
Is that it? This book is proof that I can’t trust what is popular. This slow burn fizzled. I kept waiting for it to heat up or for the big twist to happen. It never did. The book is slow, boring and full of unrealistic, unlikable characters. Disappointing!
lucyreads00's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ashiixx's review
4.0
Suuuuuper interesting and gripping story line but I found the Netflix scenes a bit ‘tacky’ and distracting. I’m curious to read more from Lisa Jewell now
stacemiddleton's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this, but I think that was in large due to the audiobook dual narration and ambitious use of multiple formats, including interview and podcast segments that were scattered throughout. They really took you into the story and made this hard to put down. This story felt engaging and like something was unfolding in the current time in front of you.
I found this to be utterly gripping and Josie was such an intriguing character. I love a strange main character with oddities and complexity, so I thought this was set for a high rating. I especially enjoyed the contrast between her and Alex's personalities and the bizarre stalker-esque moments. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed as the ending was too messy and left too open ended. There was at least two possible culprits and explanations for what went down, but we were left with too many unknowns making it hard for the reader to do much but speculate and unable to form their own conclusion or version. I sometimes enjoy the ending being left open to the reader's imagination, but this felt unfinished and lazy. Like the author had given up when trying to put the pieces together in a way that would logically make sense and seem clever. I really wanted her to knock it out of the park, but we got a lukewarm finale. We didn't even get the full story of the Brooke/Roxy argument and how the murders took place, so it felt like we were left hanging on a pivotal moment.
I love an unreliable narrator and exploration of sensitive topics, but I don't feel that this was done very responsibly in this book. It's clear that one of the characters was a pedophile and groomed another, yet towards the end the tone is super off, as though the reader is expected to be sympathetic to him? Which is made even more unfathomable considering the further position of power he was revealed to have been in with Josie. It was like the author tried to make him morally ambiguous, but a hard line was crossed with Walter which made that impossible. I think this book would have been better served by a more nuanced characterisation.
I also feel the relationships between characters needed more fleshing out. I think the author could've done so much more with the child characters and Josie's mum. Josie's daughters got so little page time until the very end, so it became difficult to understand them (their motivations and personalities) or for the reader to deduce their involvement. I also found Josie's mum an interesting character that was a real missed opportunity.
All in all this was a decent and suspenseful read, but one with real flaws that impacted my overall enjoyment and needed fleshing out more.
I found this to be utterly gripping and Josie was such an intriguing character. I love a strange main character with oddities and complexity, so I thought this was set for a high rating. I especially enjoyed the contrast between her and Alex's personalities and the bizarre stalker-esque moments. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed as the ending was too messy and left too open ended. There was at least two possible culprits and explanations for what went down, but we were left with too many unknowns making it hard for the reader to do much but speculate and unable to form their own conclusion or version. I sometimes enjoy the ending being left open to the reader's imagination, but this felt unfinished and lazy. Like the author had given up when trying to put the pieces together in a way that would logically make sense and seem clever. I really wanted her to knock it out of the park, but we got a lukewarm finale. We didn't even get the full story of the Brooke/Roxy argument and how the murders took place, so it felt like we were left hanging on a pivotal moment.
I love an unreliable narrator and exploration of sensitive topics, but I don't feel that this was done very responsibly in this book. It's clear that one of the characters was a pedophile and groomed another, yet towards the end the tone is super off, as though the reader is expected to be sympathetic to him? Which is made even more unfathomable considering the further position of power he was revealed to have been in with Josie. It was like the author tried to make him morally ambiguous, but a hard line was crossed with Walter which made that impossible. I think this book would have been better served by a more nuanced characterisation.
I also feel the relationships between characters needed more fleshing out. I think the author could've done so much more with the child characters and Josie's mum. Josie's daughters got so little page time until the very end, so it became difficult to understand them (their motivations and personalities) or for the reader to deduce their involvement. I also found Josie's mum an interesting character that was a real missed opportunity.
All in all this was a decent and suspenseful read, but one with real flaws that impacted my overall enjoyment and needed fleshing out more.
doglady_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lex0831's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
The title sets you up to second guess every bit of information you get, but I’m still not sure who/what to believe. If this really was a Netflix special, I totally would have watched it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Pedophilia
Minor: Violence, Incest, and Domestic abuse
andreina_fdz's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t know who to trust anymore.
A bit slow at times but SO worth it. Lisa just can’t write a bad book.
A bit slow at times but SO worth it. Lisa just can’t write a bad book.