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crosberg's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Another disappointing thriller/mystery. The book is only 330 pages and there's only one core mystery with several murders and acts of violence so I don't know how the author managed to make it feel slow, but he did. Without spoilers or going too much into detail, the overwhelming feeling of this book is that the author really doesn't like women, and his male characters are showing exactly how. The main character was a female therapist, and she did have a few female colleagues/mentors to rely on, plus all of the victims were female. But somehow the only people who had any personality were all men and most of them treated the women in their lives callously at best, abusively at worst. Gaslighting and "there, there dear let the men handle it" patronizing is rampant with all but one of the male characters, who the main character seems to fall in love with after he's simply kind to her for about 30 seconds. I was so distracted by the absolutely flat, passive women and the terrible, violent men that I became utterly disinterested in the actual mystery. What's worse is that the author treats sexual assault, child abuse, and trauma with a casualness that made my skin crawl. Forget the actual murderer, I'd be uncomfortable interacting with the author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Adult/minor relationship
christine_beatrice's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual violence
beccadamb's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I found this book difficult to put down, even though it is outside of my typical genre. Well-written, with loads of twists and turns, my brain kept flipping back and forth on who I thought the killer was. While I did think the person who was the killer could’ve been a suspect, the reason they ended up being a killer was shocking. This book is a quick read, with short chapters, and a great twist!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
shawn_small's review against another edition
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence and Child abuse
jasminewright's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
NO BECAUSE THIS WAS SO EFFING CRAZY. This year, I have been on a really big kick of contemporary retellings of Greek Mythology. I must say, I wasn't quite expecting the books to be this dark and twisted but I was totally into it. I don't normally re-read books, but I would read this again just to pick up on some things that I missed before. The twist was absolutely shocking. I mean, I was totally shook. The writing was great and entertaining from beginning to end. The short chapters are a favorite of mine. I will say, check the trigger warnings before reading this book because there are a lot of dark things that occur.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
iamaemmafan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Violence
librocrone's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Woof, y'all. Woof. More like a 1.5/5, but at that point, does it really matter?
Trigger warnings for death of a spouse, stalking, statutory rape, child abuse, and obviously murder.
I was very excited about this because the synopsis seemed to hit a lot of buttons for me: dark academia, murder, Greek mythology, spooky vibes. This book *technically* delivered on these things, but with no soul, no flair, and no originality.
My long-term gripe with this book is that the writing is just so poor. The characters are stale and flat, dull and predictable. The way this book feels stilted and badly crafted is impossible to ignore while reading - Mariana's obsession with Professor Fosca as the perpetrator makes it unbearably clear to anyone with two brain cells to rub together that he *isn't* the murderer, there's a police chief who like, wags his finger threateningly at Mariana and literally says "This is my investigation!" like it's a noir cartoon, and just bad, corny, tropey writing all around without any spin on trope to make it new or different.
And that doesn't even touch on how absolutely ridiculous Mariana is herself - how totally impossible I found it to root for her. She knows in her gut that Fosca is a murderer, and I knew in my gut that he wasn't, because this is a book and no writer would lay out their murderer in a thriller right away. But since I came in with that gut instinct, it made *all* of Mariana's very convenient and frequently borderline illegal actions totally unjustifiable. The finger wagging police chief is right wag his finger - this random woman's obsession with the investigation is impeding the real work of figuring out whodunit. She lies to get people to confide in her, she breaks into locked buildings, she stalks people she suspects, and because she "believes" that the professor is the murderer, this is somehow... okay?! Also her "evidence" against the professor is LAUGHABLY inconclusive. I fundamentally don't understand why the audience is supposed to be on this character's side.
Also, she so fundamentally believes that Fosca is a *literal murderer* and chooses to spend time alone with him? Baffling.
The pacing was ploddingly slow - nothing happens for quite a long time after the first murder. We don't even begin to talk about The Maidens until about halfway through the book. The only saving grace on the pacing is the short chapters, which make it easy to keep going. Otherwise, it's all just very boring, waiting for something else to happen to please GOD move this plot along.
However, my second gripe with this book is the twist. Spoilers below:
I guessed the twist about the niece, thinking that she was the only possible killer that would actually be a bit of a surprise, and gasp. I was right, therefore making it not a surprise. But the motivation? The reveal about the dead husband? Like... WHAT?
Mariana and Sebastian met when they were nineteen and he died at thirty-five. They were together FIFTEEN YEARS and suddenly he decides he's going to kill her? It does not make any sense, and mostly just grossed me out. That reveal was 'shocking' I suppose but mostly it just left me with a full-body ick feeling because it felt so absolutely pointless, just shock value, just to ruin your day, just to make you feel sick to your stomach. And what's more - once we've had this reveal, we FINALLY stop talking the stupid husband?! We've spent the entire book listening to Mariana whine and moan about her grief and once we learn that he's evil, actually, she just never mentions him again. Just. Such poor writing, and such an absurd and gross and unnecessary addition.
All in all, this book was intensely boring and irritating by turns. The idea was an interesting one, but the execution left SO much to be desired. Bad characters. Bad writing. Predictable twist. Unsatisfying ending. Just. A big no.
Trigger warnings for death of a spouse, stalking, statutory rape, child abuse, and obviously murder.
I was very excited about this because the synopsis seemed to hit a lot of buttons for me: dark academia, murder, Greek mythology, spooky vibes. This book *technically* delivered on these things, but with no soul, no flair, and no originality.
My long-term gripe with this book is that the writing is just so poor. The characters are stale and flat, dull and predictable. The way this book feels stilted and badly crafted is impossible to ignore while reading - Mariana's obsession with Professor Fosca as the perpetrator makes it unbearably clear to anyone with two brain cells to rub together that he *isn't* the murderer, there's a police chief who like, wags his finger threateningly at Mariana and literally says "This is my investigation!" like it's a noir cartoon, and just bad, corny, tropey writing all around without any spin on trope to make it new or different.
And that doesn't even touch on how absolutely ridiculous Mariana is herself - how totally impossible I found it to root for her. She knows in her gut that Fosca is a murderer, and I knew in my gut that he wasn't, because this is a book and no writer would lay out their murderer in a thriller right away. But since I came in with that gut instinct, it made *all* of Mariana's very convenient and frequently borderline illegal actions totally unjustifiable. The finger wagging police chief is right wag his finger - this random woman's obsession with the investigation is impeding the real work of figuring out whodunit. She lies to get people to confide in her, she breaks into locked buildings, she stalks people she suspects, and because she "believes" that the professor is the murderer, this is somehow... okay?! Also her "evidence" against the professor is LAUGHABLY inconclusive. I fundamentally don't understand why the audience is supposed to be on this character's side.
Also, she so fundamentally believes that Fosca is a *literal murderer* and chooses to spend time alone with him? Baffling.
The pacing was ploddingly slow - nothing happens for quite a long time after the first murder. We don't even begin to talk about The Maidens until about halfway through the book. The only saving grace on the pacing is the short chapters, which make it easy to keep going. Otherwise, it's all just very boring, waiting for something else to happen to please GOD move this plot along.
However, my second gripe with this book is the twist. Spoilers below:
Mariana and Sebastian met when they were nineteen and he died at thirty-five. They were together FIFTEEN YEARS and suddenly he decides he's going to kill her? It does not make any sense, and mostly just grossed me out. That reveal was 'shocking' I suppose but mostly it just left me with a full-body ick feeling because it felt so absolutely pointless, just shock value, just to ruin your day, just to make you feel sick to your stomach. And what's more - once we've had this reveal, we FINALLY stop talking the stupid husband?! We've spent the entire book listening to Mariana whine and moan about her grief and once we learn that he's evil, actually, she just never mentions him again. Just. Such poor writing, and such an absurd and gross and unnecessary addition.
All in all, this book was intensely boring and irritating by turns. The idea was an interesting one, but the execution left SO much to be desired. Bad characters. Bad writing. Predictable twist. Unsatisfying ending. Just. A big no.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Stalking
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
Minor: Animal death and Suicide attempt
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