Scan barcode
jaf1025's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
scrappymags's review
4.0
Scrappymags 3 word review: devilishly delightful (2 words! Booom!)
Facts about your reviewer: I’ve only read one other Lescroart book (The Second Chair) so I don’t have a “relationship” with the author. It seems those who invested in Lescroart are more disappointed in the book. Me? I dug it.
Shortest summary. Ever.: beautiful wife has affair with a friend of a friend’s husband. Uh oh dead body! Who did it?
What’s good under the hood: I massively (and perversely) enjoy flawed characters and Fatal proved an abundance. Give me shiny happy people who truly suck behind the veneer and I’m in. There’s Kate who engages in the affair (not a spoiler) and there’s her college bestie Beth, devoted to her job as a homicide detective (guess who gets this case?), and there’s Peter, the other side of the affair who might not be the “nice guy” everyone thinks he is. Another case introduces Laurie, a young anorexic who befriends Beth’s daughter. Shady partners, frienemies everywhere… the plethora of suspects is far-reaching and each has something you’ll dislike (mostly). It’s like navigating a minefield of suspects. Personally I love that as I am in a reading phase of shirking virginal BORING characters. I was wrong about who-dun-it and that rarely happens.
What’s bad or made me mad: Beth would never nab the case because of her relationship with potential suspects. Readers must suspend disbelief there. Also I didn’t really understand the purpose of the whole attack/shooting (not a spoiler… first 50 pgs). It didn’t mesh nor seem important to the plot. The anorexic friend Laurie seemed like an odd addition too, but I suppose necessary to advance the story.
Recommend to: if you’re a Lescroart fan throw everything out the window. This doesn’t seem to be his usual work! Those who enjoy sexy thrillers (Gone Girl, Girl on the Train), book clubs, fans of the flawed, looking for a nice compact mystery.
Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my bitchin ‘ review.
Facts about your reviewer: I’ve only read one other Lescroart book (The Second Chair) so I don’t have a “relationship” with the author. It seems those who invested in Lescroart are more disappointed in the book. Me? I dug it.
Shortest summary. Ever.: beautiful wife has affair with a friend of a friend’s husband. Uh oh dead body! Who did it?
What’s good under the hood: I massively (and perversely) enjoy flawed characters and Fatal proved an abundance. Give me shiny happy people who truly suck behind the veneer and I’m in. There’s Kate who engages in the affair (not a spoiler) and there’s her college bestie Beth, devoted to her job as a homicide detective (guess who gets this case?), and there’s Peter, the other side of the affair who might not be the “nice guy” everyone thinks he is. Another case introduces Laurie, a young anorexic who befriends Beth’s daughter. Shady partners, frienemies everywhere… the plethora of suspects is far-reaching and each has something you’ll dislike (mostly). It’s like navigating a minefield of suspects. Personally I love that as I am in a reading phase of shirking virginal BORING characters. I was wrong about who-dun-it and that rarely happens.
What’s bad or made me mad: Beth would never nab the case because of her relationship with potential suspects. Readers must suspend disbelief there. Also I didn’t really understand the purpose of the whole attack/shooting (not a spoiler… first 50 pgs). It didn’t mesh nor seem important to the plot. The anorexic friend Laurie seemed like an odd addition too, but I suppose necessary to advance the story.
Recommend to: if you’re a Lescroart fan throw everything out the window. This doesn’t seem to be his usual work! Those who enjoy sexy thrillers (Gone Girl, Girl on the Train), book clubs, fans of the flawed, looking for a nice compact mystery.
Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my bitchin ‘ review.
justacatandabook's review
3.0
Kate and her husband Ron, have a seemingly perfect life: happily married, two kids, etc. So Kate is thrown off by her attraction to another man, Peter Ash, when she meets him at a dinner party held by one of Ron's colleagues and his own wife. Peter himself is married, with twin sons. Unable to get Peter out her mind, Kate ignores the warnings of her friend Beth, and arranges an encounter. Shortly after that event, Kate and Beth are involved in a horrific terrorist attack, and it seems like nothing will ever be the same.
This was a slightly bizarre novel with an interesting premise: a sort of anti-adultery treatise, in a way. The novel confounded me slightly with its two different tracks: one of personal angst and murder (I don't think it's a spoiler to state that shortly after the terrorist attack, Peter Ash winds up murdered) and then the terrorist attack, which seems somewhat oddly inserted into the novel's plot. Kate's friend Beth is a police detective, and for me, Beth was driving force of the book (and seriously, practically the only sane person in this story). I enjoyed her character and while it's been noted that this was a standalone novel for Lescroart, I could see another book featuring her.
Beth is perplexed as she tries to solve Peter Ash's murder. For us: not really. I felt as if the suspect was fairly easily identifiable the whole time. Lescroart did a fairly good job as casting suspicions on someone else; at one point, I finally thought, oh, ok, maybe I really am wrong (but I wasn't). There's a whole host of characters in the novel and they are interesting, but not really as complex or intricate as Beth. Overall, I enjoyed this novel-- I haven't read anything by Lescroart since some of his early Dismas Hardy books ages ago-- but I didn't find it to have an amazing "wow" factor or anything. It was an interesting, if somewhat predictable thriller, with some strange plot points thrown in.
I received a copy of this novel from Netgalley and the publisher (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 01/24/2017.
This was a slightly bizarre novel with an interesting premise: a sort of anti-adultery treatise, in a way. The novel confounded me slightly with its two different tracks: one of personal angst and murder (I don't think it's a spoiler to state that shortly after the terrorist attack, Peter Ash winds up murdered) and then the terrorist attack, which seems somewhat oddly inserted into the novel's plot. Kate's friend Beth is a police detective, and for me, Beth was driving force of the book (and seriously, practically the only sane person in this story). I enjoyed her character and while it's been noted that this was a standalone novel for Lescroart, I could see another book featuring her.
Beth is perplexed as she tries to solve Peter Ash's murder. For us: not really. I felt as if the suspect was fairly easily identifiable the whole time. Lescroart did a fairly good job as casting suspicions on someone else; at one point, I finally thought, oh, ok, maybe I really am wrong (but I wasn't). There's a whole host of characters in the novel and they are interesting, but not really as complex or intricate as Beth. Overall, I enjoyed this novel-- I haven't read anything by Lescroart since some of his early Dismas Hardy books ages ago-- but I didn't find it to have an amazing "wow" factor or anything. It was an interesting, if somewhat predictable thriller, with some strange plot points thrown in.
I received a copy of this novel from Netgalley and the publisher (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 01/24/2017.
More...