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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Reading this book felt a lot like a punishment. It's viscerally unpleasant to be in the head of a woman who's been kidnapped by a serial killer who's held her captive in a shed and raped her for five years, as well as in the POVs of a woman who has a crush on the man's good ol' guy persona, the man's daughter, and, for one chapter a piece, his other victims.
Michallon is obviously going for something psychologically rich, and while I think it holds together okay for the first half -- the half that is also the most page-turning and suspenseful -- it starts to fall apart as the book progresses and you can feel her run out of steam. The captive's choices to not take this opportunity or that to escape begin to feel increasingly thin (especially when her ultimate plan turns out to be...needlessly complicated, to say the least); Emily, the woman with the crush, becomes more and more unhinged in her own behavior until I didn't buy the character at all; and the chapters from the victims lose their power to repetitiveness and to the problem of so much serial killer true crime: the killer is more interesting to the writer than his victims, who barely get to be seen as people.
All that, over four hundred pages, and yet everything we know about this particular serial killer remains opaque or a cliche. The ending is fairly limp after all that build up. Was Michallon ever trying to say anything, beyond the motions necessary for a thriller? If she was, it feels like those ideas got lost along the way.
Michallon is obviously going for something psychologically rich, and while I think it holds together okay for the first half -- the half that is also the most page-turning and suspenseful -- it starts to fall apart as the book progresses and you can feel her run out of steam. The captive's choices to not take this opportunity or that to escape begin to feel increasingly thin (especially when her ultimate plan turns out to be...needlessly complicated, to say the least); Emily, the woman with the crush, becomes more and more unhinged in her own behavior until I didn't buy the character at all; and the chapters from the victims lose their power to repetitiveness and to the problem of so much serial killer true crime: the killer is more interesting to the writer than his victims, who barely get to be seen as people.
All that, over four hundred pages, and yet everything we know about this particular serial killer remains opaque or a cliche. The ending is fairly limp after all that build up. Was Michallon ever trying to say anything, beyond the motions necessary for a thriller? If she was, it feels like those ideas got lost along the way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Murder
dark
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Would probably round down to 2.5 if I could. There aren’t any real twists, and the plot kind of coasts until one final climax. I think the author really wanted to center the women in this story, which I appreciate, but you never really learn about the man’s motives for being a serial kidnapper/killer. It’s told through multiple POVs, and I think a passage or two from the man would’ve taken the story further.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I read this in 2 days. The quick pace kept my attention throughout every chapter.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes