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tharumi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Child death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Car accident, Death of parent, and Suicide
tylerrose15161's review against another edition
I love murder mystery books, but my god was this difficult to get into and couldn't hold my attention. The pace and the tone of the book/narration was so slow and dragged on. The thing I disliked the most was that the main character Daisy, whose POV you stay locked into throughout the book, she repeatedly states that "she has a secret" and other ominous claims that her family has holes in them, they're not what they appear to be, etcetera etcetera. Which normally wouldn't be an issue, but when these statements get repeated 10 times within the first 4 chapters, it no longer builds suspense for the reader. Instead it gives off the same energy as someone who posts on social media that they've had a bad day and when someone reaches out to ask if they're okay, they respond saying they don't want to talk about it. So it's extremely annoying.
I ended up reading a summary breakdown of the book instead of actually reading it because of these reasons. And even going through the breakdown, I was still left uninterested.
As for the ending of the book, it did manage to surprise me by revealing a plot twist that I wasn't expecting. But at the same time, it wasn't enough to redeem the book itself. It left me with the feeling of "that's it?".
I ended up reading a summary breakdown of the book instead of actually reading it because of these reasons. And even going through the breakdown, I was still left uninterested.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Car accident, Death, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
growintogardens's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Feeney is good at making a creepy atmosphere, and I could visualize the house really well. I didn't love the twist. It was something I thought about early, but dismissed it. I honestly think this would have been more enjoyable if she had survived instead of becoming a ghost, and lost the memory of the accident. It would have been more creepy and crazy imo, for them to still kill the family members because of Daisy's abuse, which is what I thought before the ghost reveal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Car accident, Death, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Grief, Suicide, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
bubblegirl858's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
For my 2023 rating system I gave this book 4 stars. This book was an amazing read. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. I seriously enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on the entire book. Once I got to the end of the book, I immediately restarted it and tried to make sense of the things that my brain had just auto filled with any family interactions with Daisy. I was literally kicking myself for just not noticing how none of the family interacted with her. I honestly did not see the ending twist at all, and it made the book so much more exciting once everything fell into place in the big "Clue" game they were living. The only reason this book didn't get 5 stars is because of the characters. Some of them were so irredeemable that it made me despise any scene with them and I just couldn't get over it, even if they got their karma. The siblings just causally getting rid of Daisy like that and the parents covering it up? Absolutely deserved everything that happened to them. Amazing writing on Alice Freeney's part, but I just couldn't get over it personally. Overall, a great read and I would definitely go back and read again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Violence and Sexual content
Minor: Chronic illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Pregnancy
ambersbooksandbakes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism
alireadss97's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book destroyed me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, and Suicide
bethboo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
I really thought that I wasn't going to like this book. The first 2 hours of it had me second guessing whether I wanted to even read it. Maybe I would have felt different if I had ever read Agatha Christie or even knew the story of And Then There Were None. Cause apparently the entire book is a nod to that. But it really pulled me in when we started to get to know the family member. The home movies were always my favorite. The narrator was phenomenal, sounding choked up and adding tears. She was great.
All the characters were horrible people and very cruel in a realistic way. They felt like real people, like I could turn around and google their names and see them in the flesh. That could partly be attributed to the narrator and her success in telling the story but that's one of the main reasons that I liked this book.
The ending. It was horribly unsatisfying and is really coloring my thoughts about the book even though I'm trying not to let it because I enjoyed the twist and turns and writing right up until the last hour or so.
Ghosts? The HUGE plot twist is...a ghost?? That's like so weird? Like this isn't a fantasy novel or something magical. She was just dead...like huh?? SO fucking disappointing.
It was a big shocker to learn how Daisy had died and it really fit in with the other characters. However, Trixie and Nana being the killers?? *eye roll* You think a tiny 15 yr old girl and an aged 80 yr old woman could move 3 dead bodies of grown adults? Like come on.
And the whole game of killing every hour on the hour and the poems, idk it just felt a little too sadistic and twisted for Trixie and Nana. Especially since their motivation was love. Like I could have believed a crime of passion by Nana, because of her anger at being the last one to know, but the game doesn't really feel realistic for them.
All the characters were horrible people and very cruel in a realistic way. They felt like real people, like I could turn around and google their names and see them in the flesh. That could partly be attributed to the narrator and her success in telling the story but that's one of the main reasons that I liked this book.
The ending. It was horribly unsatisfying and is really coloring my thoughts about the book even though I'm trying not to let it because I enjoyed the twist and turns and writing right up until the last hour or so.
Ghosts? The HUGE plot twist is...a ghost?? That's like so weird? Like this isn't a fantasy novel or something magical. She was just dead...like huh?? SO fucking disappointing.
It was a big shocker to learn how Daisy had died and it really fit in with the other characters. However, Trixie and Nana being the killers?? *eye roll* You think a tiny 15 yr old girl and an aged 80 yr old woman could move 3 dead bodies of grown adults? Like come on.
And the whole game of killing every hour on the hour and the poems, idk it just felt a little too sadistic and twisted for Trixie and Nana. Especially since their motivation was love. Like I could have believed a crime of passion by Nana, because of her anger at being the last one to know, but the game doesn't really feel realistic for them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, Gaslighting, and Grief
pinkpotayto's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book used the back and forth past/present device that im not quite fond of but it was done really well in this scenario and slowly helped the mystery unfold and the questions answered themselves. Most of it you can see coming, or at least I could, but how you got there was the true mystery and it was one I was willing to be patient and wait for! I enjoyed this book! But like any murder mystery please check and be mindful of the tags!!!!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Medical trauma
theinstabookworm's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
FORMAT: 📖
THE GOOD: This book is wild! It's set around Halloween, which I wish I had known going into it, but I'm still glad I finally read it now. That is something to keep in mind if you haven't yet read this one though. I loved all the book references in this and I did guess one of the twists but not the other. This was creepy in a good way and I read it in 24 hours because I couldn't put it down, even though it was a slower burn. I loved that it was about a family and thought that was a nice twist on a mystery.
THE BAD: The only bad thing about this is that it is a slower burn story. It's more of a mystery than a thriller and so the story isn't as suspenseful as some of Feeney's other novels.
Favourite quote: "You are a disgrace to depression, and you don't deserve to call yourself that child's father."
THE GOOD: This book is wild! It's set around Halloween, which I wish I had known going into it, but I'm still glad I finally read it now. That is something to keep in mind if you haven't yet read this one though. I loved all the book references in this and I did guess one of the twists but not the other. This was creepy in a good way and I read it in 24 hours because I couldn't put it down, even though it was a slower burn. I loved that it was about a family and thought that was a nice twist on a mystery.
THE BAD: The only bad thing about this is that it is a slower burn story. It's more of a mystery than a thriller and so the story isn't as suspenseful as some of Feeney's other novels.
Favourite quote: "You are a disgrace to depression, and you don't deserve to call yourself that child's father."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Murder
deanchaudhri's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Violence