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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
I dare you to read the first chapter of this book and not be immediately hooked. It starts out with some pages from a journal where an unnamed narrator is telling you about what happened. These pages are sprinkled throughout the book, and they were my favorite parts. I found the journal incredibly intriguing, and it kept me wanting to read more.
This book is told in two different timelines. We follow six college students in 1995 that live together. Then, we follow five of them twenty years later when they all end up vacationing together at a secluded Scottish mansion. One of the six friends was murdered back in 1995, and someone blames all five survivors. We, as the reader, are trying to figure out who the murderer was, how the others were involved, and who is our unnamed narrator.
This book started strong for me, and I thought I was going to love it. However, as the plot unfolded it just kept getting more and more ridiculous. The only characters that were even remotely likable died early in the book. I found it hard to care what happened to the remaining characters. As the story progressed, I had a hard time suspending my disbelief. The plot was completely unbelievable and ridiculous.
This book is told in two different timelines. We follow six college students in 1995 that live together. Then, we follow five of them twenty years later when they all end up vacationing together at a secluded Scottish mansion. One of the six friends was murdered back in 1995, and someone blames all five survivors. We, as the reader, are trying to figure out who the murderer was, how the others were involved, and who is our unnamed narrator.
This book started strong for me, and I thought I was going to love it. However, as the plot unfolded it just kept getting more and more ridiculous. The only characters that were even remotely likable died early in the book. I found it hard to care what happened to the remaining characters. As the story progressed, I had a hard time suspending my disbelief. The plot was completely unbelievable and ridiculous.
I'm on a roll with books this week! This was another entertaining read. Intriguing plot. Interesting characters. Well written. Well-constructed mystery that kept me guessing until the very end.
This is a solid read for a pandemic, as it's pure escapism. I found some of the story to be a tad clunky / hard to follow with the time hopping. Yet, overall it's the first book I have been able to read since march.... so that must be somethin'
A nightmare come to life, this book is dark, twisty, and chock full of murder! I really enjoyed this one. The cast is full of terrible characters behaving badly, which happens to be one of my favorite tropes.
There were so many great twists and truly horrific moments. Be prepared for gore and body horror! Despite the fact that the characters were truly horrible people, they were wonderfully developed, and I was absolutely glued to their stories! This book is perfect for fans of both horror and thrillers. It also has major Clue vibes, which I absolutely adored!
There were so many great twists and truly horrific moments. Be prepared for gore and body horror! Despite the fact that the characters were truly horrible people, they were wonderfully developed, and I was absolutely glued to their stories! This book is perfect for fans of both horror and thrillers. It also has major Clue vibes, which I absolutely adored!
More like an unrealistic horror film than a thriller.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The title itself should give you a clue that you won't like the characters - they all did bad things. But, were they bad enough to be killed for? The story jumps all over the place and is at first a little hard to keep up with, but that is part of what made it a really good mystery. If you love Agatha Christie type mysteries, ala And Then There Were None, and the game of Clue you will love seeing if you can follow all of the clues and figure out who did what and when. The ending was outstanding and I definitely didn't see it coming. Now I need to reread it to find all of the clues I missed!
They Did Bad Things has a wonderful premise perfect for a thriller: a group of uni flatmates are reunited under mysterious circumstances at an inn in Scotland. Over the weekend, they confront each other on the roles they played in the death of their friend in 1995.
The idea behind this book is brilliant. The characters were all three dimensional and I found it easy to distinguish between them. The interpersonal dynamics were easy to follow and translated well between the past and present day. I thought the ending was terrific and worth waiting for. I particularly enjoyed how vivid the scenes in the 90s were. This was the strongest parts of the book for me. I truly felt like I had wandered into their flat share.
Unfortunately, I found this book hard to get into. It found its mojo about halfway through the book but it was hard to stay interested up to that point because I was not emotionally invested.
One aspect of the book that I found difficult was making sense of the physical space of the hotel. There is a lot of movement between rooms and floors and I could not follow it. It seemed enormous but yet had no staff and that did not make sense to me. The diary entries were confusing but I think that was due to formatting.
In the end, I could not put it down because I wanted to know who did it and who would make it out alive.
Thank you to NetGalley and Arcade Crimewise for this ARC.
The idea behind this book is brilliant. The characters were all three dimensional and I found it easy to distinguish between them. The interpersonal dynamics were easy to follow and translated well between the past and present day. I thought the ending was terrific and worth waiting for. I particularly enjoyed how vivid the scenes in the 90s were. This was the strongest parts of the book for me. I truly felt like I had wandered into their flat share.
Unfortunately, I found this book hard to get into. It found its mojo about halfway through the book but it was hard to stay interested up to that point because I was not emotionally invested.
One aspect of the book that I found difficult was making sense of the physical space of the hotel. There is a lot of movement between rooms and floors and I could not follow it. It seemed enormous but yet had no staff and that did not make sense to me. The diary entries were confusing but I think that was due to formatting.
In the end, I could not put it down because I wanted to know who did it and who would make it out alive.
Thank you to NetGalley and Arcade Crimewise for this ARC.