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abaranes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This was interesting in both good and not as good ways. Before I get into the review, I will say this: the blurb is beyond misleading. It makes it seem like a standard mystery/thriller where FBI agent Jessica Winslow is in a race against the clock to catch a serial killer. I don't know what book that's a synopsis for, but it sure ain't this one. Jessica's story is one of nine and it's not given any special weight compared to the others.
Now then:
<b>Good:</b> I really appreciated the unique take on the "And Then There Were None" style of mystery. This was less mystery/thriller and more mystery/character study. Sure, the question of whodunnit was there, but the focus was really more on the murder victims, who they were, and what made them tick. Unlike a lot of other mystery novels, it was much more character driven than plot driven.
<b>Bad:</b> The ending. Both the identity of the killer and the final chapter were let downs for me. I think Swanson was trying to get me to sympathize with the killer, but the killer was an actual psychopath. In the words of Brooklyn 99, "cool motive, still murder." And in this case, a lot of pre-meditated murder that was a lot of punishing the child for the sin of the parent. I'm also not sure about having someone on the list be the killer. Yes, it's an homage to Agatha Christie, but the reveal honestly made me less interested in the book. And don't get me started on Jessica somehow surviving a bullet to the back of the skull. Leave that for Hollywood.
Overall, it was an interesting, unique approach. I don't know if I'd say I LIKED it, but it wasn't bad by any means.
Now then:
<b>Good:</b> I really appreciated the unique take on the "And Then There Were None" style of mystery. This was less mystery/thriller and more mystery/character study. Sure, the question of whodunnit was there, but the focus was really more on the murder victims, who they were, and what made them tick. Unlike a lot of other mystery novels, it was much more character driven than plot driven.
<b>Bad:</b> The ending. Both the identity of the killer and the final chapter were let downs for me. I think Swanson was trying to get me to sympathize with the killer, but the killer was an actual psychopath. In the words of Brooklyn 99, "cool motive, still murder." And in this case, a lot of pre-meditated murder that
Overall, it was an interesting, unique approach. I don't know if I'd say I LIKED it, but it wasn't bad by any means.
phantastikate's review
2.5
Peter Swanson writes about Agatha Christie a lot. Makes the book boring and predictable. The bad guy is one of the people on the list. Obvi.
thriller_buffet's review
4.0
When I read a Peter Swanson’s book I feel sophisticated and even intelligent.
I love stories with multiple characters although this one made me struggle remembering the names at the beginning..
You have to patient until the end for the events to make sense and as was mentioned multiple times that it res embers Agatha Christie’s novel “And Then There Were None”!!
I love stories with multiple characters although this one made me struggle remembering the names at the beginning..
You have to patient until the end for the events to make sense and as was mentioned multiple times that it res embers Agatha Christie’s novel “And Then There Were None”!!
cross_a16's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
I listened to this book on audio, and I think it would have been better in print. There were too many characters to recall, and it would have been easier to go back and look if I had forgotten which character was which.
The twist in this book is so overdone that I was just frustrated more than anything. I read a LOT of thrillers and I swear this is the twist in half of the thrillers I read. I was disappointed in the lack of originality.
Overall this book was okay. It was interesting enough but I wasn’t impressed by the twist, and I didn’t really like the whole concept of the motivation behind the plot.
The twist in this book is so overdone that I was just frustrated more than anything. I read a LOT of thrillers and I swear this is the twist in half of the thrillers I read. I was disappointed in the lack of originality.
Overall this book was okay. It was interesting enough but I wasn’t impressed by the twist, and I didn’t really like the whole concept of the motivation behind the plot.
nadditron's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
becca1997's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
whitneylee's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
siakou's review against another edition
2.0
This gotta be the flattest mystery thriller in the history of mystery thrillers.
Even calling it a thriller is a stretch actually.
I’ve said It before but I’ll say it again: having multiple POVs is not gonna save a boring book from being boring. On the contrary, it makes the book extremely difficult to read and prevents the readers from connecting emotionally and ultimately carrying about any of the characters.
Authors need to FINALLY realize that and and put more energy on better writing. Until then, throw at least a disclaimer so the rest of us who are not enjoying this type of content could at least avoid it.
Just for reference tho, this has at least 11 POVs, I lost count after that. I still cannot understand why nobody said anything to Peter Swanson at the 3-4 POV mark, like "please consider a more clever way to present your vision because that is just not gonna work”.
So to sum up, the chapters are short and the POV is constantly changing. As a result, people are being killed off and you don’t even have an option, it’s just a passive event.
Then time and time again Agatha Christie and Then there were none gets mentioned and we get more inside information about the author and what he attempted to do than any of his characters and that’s never great.
All in all, no shocking factor, not fast paced, surface level characters, and zero twists.
Also the reasoning of it all made no sense but by that point I just wanted it to be over already so yeah whatever.
Thank you NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the digital ARC.
Even calling it a thriller is a stretch actually.
I’ve said It before but I’ll say it again: having multiple POVs is not gonna save a boring book from being boring. On the contrary, it makes the book extremely difficult to read and prevents the readers from connecting emotionally and ultimately carrying about any of the characters.
Authors need to FINALLY realize that and and put more energy on better writing. Until then, throw at least a disclaimer so the rest of us who are not enjoying this type of content could at least avoid it.
Just for reference tho, this has at least 11 POVs, I lost count after that. I still cannot understand why nobody said anything to Peter Swanson at the 3-4 POV mark, like "please consider a more clever way to present your vision because that is just not gonna work”.
So to sum up, the chapters are short and the POV is constantly changing. As a result, people are being killed off and you don’t even have an option, it’s just a passive event.
Then time and time again Agatha Christie and Then there were none gets mentioned and we get more inside information about the author and what he attempted to do than any of his characters and that’s never great.
All in all, no shocking factor, not fast paced, surface level characters, and zero twists.
Also the reasoning of it all made no sense but by that point I just wanted it to be over already so yeah whatever.
Thank you NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the digital ARC.