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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
This was a quick and easy read that I couldn’t put down! I typically don’t enjoy mysteries but this one kept me hooked and I just had to know how it ended.
3.5 stars, rounded up for being crazy page-turning. This book apparently took me only 6-ish hours to read cover to cover?!
DNF. I just didn’t care to continue to be quite honest. There’s so many POV. Wasn’t super hard to keep up but there was zero character development. Zero thrill. I was just bored and not invested in the story to keep going. I didn’t even care who the killer was.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you like Agatha Cristie or her book "Then There Were None", this book is for you. This follows the same premise. A list of names are sent out, and everyone on the list ends up being murdered. It is a fast paced read with the characters dying off quickly. Because of this, you don't get much build up or back story to each of the characters which I personally prefer.
dark
fast-paced
I remember when I enjoyed Peter Swanson - ah, those were the days! When he could still make a far fetched plot believable. Alas, those days are gone. Although I enjoyed parts of this, the motivation for the murders is beyond farfetched and ludicrous. It’s yet another ending that makes me want to brush my brains with toothpaste to obliterate every last memory of it.
Take the plot from “And then there were none” and set in in Maine instead of on an island, and voilà, you have this book. Ah, except of course there are nine people on the death list instead of ten - just to have a difference. Eight people get a list of nine names, strangers. Then the dying starts. Spare me.
Take the plot from “And then there were none” and set in in Maine instead of on an island, and voilà, you have this book. Ah, except of course there are nine people on the death list instead of ten - just to have a difference. Eight people get a list of nine names, strangers. Then the dying starts. Spare me.
I struggled with how to rate this book. It was an absolute page Turner. I found the plot compelling and the many characters intriguing.
But for as good as the book is, it's let down horribly by its conclusion. The reader is not given all of the details they need to solve the mystery themselves. Instead of peppering the narrative with small details throughout that act as clues, the reader is given an information dump AFTER the culprit has been revealed.
It feels like the writer was trying to create a twist ending. But the twist is arbitrary.
Imagine if I asked you what 2+2 was, and after some deductive reasoning you came to the conclusion it was 4. Then I tell you that the answer is 6, because the 2s were actually 3s the whole time.
But for as good as the book is, it's let down horribly by its conclusion. The reader is not given all of the details they need to solve the mystery themselves. Instead of peppering the narrative with small details throughout that act as clues, the reader is given an information dump AFTER the culprit has been revealed.
It feels like the writer was trying to create a twist ending. But the twist is arbitrary.
Imagine if I asked you what 2+2 was, and after some deductive reasoning you came to the conclusion it was 4. Then I tell you that the answer is 6, because the 2s were actually 3s the whole time.