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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
I really really enjoyed this book! Such a great crime/thriller, so many twists and turns! You finally think you know what’s going on and then BAM another twist! I love the eerie ness and the creepy moments! Would definitely recommend! Can’t wait to read the 2nd book!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've read one other Lisa Jewell book and it was AMAZING. I was more than a little disappointed by this one. There's no mystery.... Just. A sad depressing story. The end leaves you wanting.
This book was slow to get into but I read the last 80% percent in like two hours. It was creepy but interesting. I did originally have trouble figuring out who all the characters were until about chapter 20.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Me gustó bastante, fue una lectura muy amena ya que la historia es fácil de seguir. Es de estos libros que te puedes leer en un fin de semana.
I felt really uncomfortable reading this.
Content warnings for child abuse, rape, murder, animal cruelty, sexual abuse and starvation.
The premise sounded so interesting - a large house in Chelsea, London, inhabited by a wealthy couple and their children, when suddenly everything changes and strangers come to live with them. Years later, and there are three adults dead and four children missing, with a baby left behind. Where are the children? How did the adults die? And who was looking after the baby?
It's passed as a thriller, but is more like a contemporary suspense/mystery novel. Lisa Jewell writes character stories, about families, often broken families, and has been very successful with this formula. Unfortunately, I do not think it is for me. This is my first book of Jewell's, though I own another, which I read the first few chapters of. For me, the writing seems quite simple, and not captivating in the way that I have felt with other books.
I spent the first 150 pages or so feeling quite bored, as there was very little plot. There are three points of view: two in third person, and one in first. At first there is some attempt to create a mystery around who the first person point of view is, and who one of the third person points of view is. This is quickly given up mid-way through a chapter when one character mentions the other by name instead of avoiding saying that character's name like they had been doing previously. At that point, I knew the connections between everyone (and had already guessed).
The plot centres around Libby, who was found as a baby in the house, trying to find out where her remaining birth family are now that she has inherited the house on her 25th birthday. There are two other narratives - one (in first person) tells the story of what happened in the late 80s and early 90s, before Libby was born. The other (in third) is the story of someone in France trying to escape an abusive ex-husband.
I was just bored. I didn't really care about any of the characters, and didn't really connect with them that much. Libby seemed stuck up to me after she describes the exact sort of man she wanted to marry, right down to the minute details. Lucy, I sympathised with a bit, but didn't understand why we needed her narrative or what point there was in including this sub-plot within the book. The other character, I didn't connect with at all. He seems smarmy and stuck up, not at all likeable, and his affection for another character started off creepy and ended up abusive.
I just, did not enjoy this at all. I read it to the end, I guess, so that's something. And I didn't hate it enough to rate it one star. So there's that. I don't think I'll be reading any more of this author's books, though. I appreciate that a lot of people enjoyed this book; it just was not for me, unfortunately.
Content warnings for child abuse, rape, murder, animal cruelty, sexual abuse and starvation.
The premise sounded so interesting - a large house in Chelsea, London, inhabited by a wealthy couple and their children, when suddenly everything changes and strangers come to live with them. Years later, and there are three adults dead and four children missing, with a baby left behind. Where are the children? How did the adults die? And who was looking after the baby?
It's passed as a thriller, but is more like a contemporary suspense/mystery novel. Lisa Jewell writes character stories, about families, often broken families, and has been very successful with this formula. Unfortunately, I do not think it is for me. This is my first book of Jewell's, though I own another, which I read the first few chapters of. For me, the writing seems quite simple, and not captivating in the way that I have felt with other books.
I spent the first 150 pages or so feeling quite bored, as there was very little plot. There are three points of view: two in third person, and one in first. At first there is some attempt to create a mystery around who the first person point of view is, and who one of the third person points of view is. This is quickly given up mid-way through a chapter when one character mentions the other by name instead of avoiding saying that character's name like they had been doing previously. At that point, I knew the connections between everyone (and had already guessed).
The plot centres around Libby, who was found as a baby in the house, trying to find out where her remaining birth family are now that she has inherited the house on her 25th birthday. There are two other narratives - one (in first person) tells the story of what happened in the late 80s and early 90s, before Libby was born. The other (in third) is the story of someone in France trying to escape an abusive ex-husband.
I was just bored. I didn't really care about any of the characters, and didn't really connect with them that much. Libby seemed stuck up to me after she describes the exact sort of man she wanted to marry, right down to the minute details. Lucy, I sympathised with a bit, but didn't understand why we needed her narrative or what point there was in including this sub-plot within the book. The other character, I didn't connect with at all. He seems smarmy and stuck up, not at all likeable, and his affection for another character started off creepy and ended up abusive.
I just, did not enjoy this at all. I read it to the end, I guess, so that's something. And I didn't hate it enough to rate it one star. So there's that. I don't think I'll be reading any more of this author's books, though. I appreciate that a lot of people enjoyed this book; it just was not for me, unfortunately.