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lexslittlelibrary's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
It was too easy as a reader to look at the letters of confession and know who could not have written them. However the plot twist at the end did nothing feel entirely earned. It came out of left field without much to substantiate it and honestly made a lot of the emotion I invested in some of the characters feel a bit wasted?
Overall, the side characters who could have been compelling fell flat. We didn’t see enough of Fosca and the Maidens (in my opinion) and the Maidens we did see were hard to get a feel for.
Overall, I want to love this book. And it’s fun enough — until the very end with the very last reveal. That’s where it lost me. Solid read but fell a hit short for me.
Graphic: Child abuse, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Death, Incest, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
arthur_ant18's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Self harm, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Pedophilia, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Violence, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Rape
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Suicide attempt
myantigone'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
1.25
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Grief, and Stalking
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
ameliacollins'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
3.75
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Stalking, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, Addiction, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Suicide
allisonwonderlandreads's review
- 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
Mariana is our protagonist, a group therapist that I found to be unreliable but empathetic as narrator, a winning combination in the genre. I personally appreciated her healthy dose of suspicion and was intrigued by the way she interacted with others through a therapist's lens, interpreting behaviors and motivations. Did I doubt every person she interacted with, including her? YES of course I did. So naturally, I was partially correct at the end while also being wildly not correct, which I enjoyed immensely. I appreciate the author for his sleight of hand and the way he manages what I notice as a reader to lead me astray.
The last 10% of the book was a wild ride. At first, I was irritated at where I thought the big reveal was headed and started to adjust my expectations for the finale and the book as a whole (thrillers more than any other genre hinge on the ending for me in terms of how I feel towards it). Luckily, I was being tricked ~again~ and a quick shift left me surprised and much more satisfied.
I was impressed by the range of the audiobook narrator with sinister interludes from the serial killer's perspective from a different voice actor. I liked the way this obscured his identity by separating the main performance from the way his writings were read, i.e. I wasn't able to match voices to guess who he is.
Finally, I loved the unexpected The Silent Patient tie-in, a brief easter egg that was clever and enjoyable while remaining subtle enough to not detract from the reading experience if you aren't familiar with the author's other book.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Infertility, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
alomie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Some of the "origin stories" were a bit harrowing, and it's not easy going in that respect, however, as we are trying to understand the motives of a serial killer it makes sense contextually. These messed up childhoods absolutely might create a serial killer.
Kept me guessing right to the end and was actually quite gripping.
Found this to be a slow start but really picked up in the third act and personally I could have done with a bit more pace, potentially this is an audio-book issue rather than a book issue. I liked it overall but I don't think I would go back to it.
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Warning Re the Doganisyrah's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Death, Stalking, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
Minor: Drug abuse, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse
km_loves_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Violence, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Abandonment
vivmorris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
aargot1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Infidelity, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
Minor: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, and Sexual assault