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A review by dani005
Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn
5.0
WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ.
I never saw that coming. This book scared the shit out of me. That ending, and the all the parts leading up to it and then to just conclude it like that! I swear my mind is running a thousand miles a minute and there is no way I'm sleeping easy tonight.
This book wasn't a scary, horror story with cheap gory tricks to make you cringe- no this was a hair-standing on end, mouth dropping open in disbelief, psychological thriller that made me scared for my own sanity. So many ideas and questions based off of reality and how we comprehend it were explored in this book. The idea of perception and perspective; the idea that everyone understands the truth to be one way and yet, one person understands it to be a whole other way. Who's in the right? and what happens when there's no one left to know the truth except the one person who's crazy. And an even worse notion to consider, how can you tell who is crazy when everyone's perception blames one person as being crazy while that same person has the proper perspective to understand who is really crazy in the current circumstance but everyone thinks otherwise. Agh. I'm pretty sure I just killed off a few brain cells trying to understand and figure this book out. And the further I read into this book, the more convoluted the craziness got so that I was pretty sure I was losing my sanity along with everyone else in this book.
What scares me the most, is that the mental illness like what was explored in this book is a real thing; its a sad and disheartening thing, and yet, this book brought up that hazy idea of perception and perspective. Who are we to decide because of the perception we have towards "crazy" people who is crazy and who is not, or who can handle society and who can not. And yet, I don't want to be mean or condescending or in away offensive but there is a very strong part of me now after reading that book that holds a fear for people out there in society that I could very well have contact with who are affected by such a mental illness like the character(s) in this book, and whether or not they are (or should be allowed- cuz' once again who are we to judge) living unchecked on the streets with no one realizing the potential harm they are causing others and themselves. It scares me as I read this book and I see the affects that this illness has, how it drains the life out of some and ruins relationships and causes so much strife. Unlike this author's first book where the kid struggled but did eventually understand his illness and sought help, this book had a very different twist in how its story was concluded for its characters that left me with so many more questions and second guessing what it was that I read, what wasn't real, and just who was crazy and just who would be held responsible or if anyone would be held responsible at all. This book plays so many games with my mind and I'm pretty sure at this point I'm probably over thinking it but this book certainly gave me such chills that only a few other thrillers have been able to do, and was written with such amazing talent and with such an amazing voice through which to share the story through.
This author had such a great voice; she captured the fear and frustration of the main character to such a fantastic degree as he struggled to come to terms with the troubles his sister was getting herself into as she spiraled out of control. There was never a dull moment. I couldn't even put this book down. After reading so many books that have just let me down and that couldn't even snag my attention from the start, this book was a fresh and wild ride that I seriously craved. This book had so many twists and turns; so many scenes that had my stomach twisting itself into knots. I kept rooting for this kid to keep going, to keep fighting through the pain and frustration because I was sure that in the end, this kid would be alright. Except the ending came and there couldn't' have been a crueler and harsher and more shocking twist. One that had my heart pounding and every party of me practically recoiling in shock from this book. Books are sometimes even better than roller coasters, because if this thing ever manifested itself into roller coaster form; it would have the carts flying off the tracks every time the ride was run.
I still don't know what to make of this ending. I wish there was some way I could scream a warning to the characters in this book. It wouldn't matter that the book's over because the story and its characters are still living on in my memory and its torture knowing how this book ended and somehow wishing that I could break past that dramatic irony the author created and make sure people learned the terrifying truth about what really happened. I have definitely found a couple of new favourite genres; every time that I read a thriller or psychological thriller, they just seem to captivate and scare more of the shit out of me for each new book that I read. These books are almost never a disappointment and always leave me reeling and wanting more at the same time.
Stephanie Kuehn is no different; she excels at writing books for these genres. She gets right inside of the character's heads and create such heavily convoluted plots that its like diving off a cliff every time you read one of her books; there's that rush of fear and exhilaration as you jump and just when you break the water, there's that little bit of pain you feel as all that pressure pushes back against the falling force of your body. She did a fantastic job on her first book, Charm & Strange; I loved that one, and she did just as a fantastic job on the second (if not making this one even more shocking than the first), and I can NOT wait for the third book she writes.
I never saw that coming. This book scared the shit out of me. That ending, and the all the parts leading up to it and then to just conclude it like that! I swear my mind is running a thousand miles a minute and there is no way I'm sleeping easy tonight.
This book wasn't a scary, horror story with cheap gory tricks to make you cringe- no this was a hair-standing on end, mouth dropping open in disbelief, psychological thriller that made me scared for my own sanity. So many ideas and questions based off of reality and how we comprehend it were explored in this book. The idea of perception and perspective; the idea that everyone understands the truth to be one way and yet, one person understands it to be a whole other way. Who's in the right? and what happens when there's no one left to know the truth except the one person who's crazy. And an even worse notion to consider, how can you tell who is crazy when everyone's perception blames one person as being crazy while that same person has the proper perspective to understand who is really crazy in the current circumstance but everyone thinks otherwise. Agh. I'm pretty sure I just killed off a few brain cells trying to understand and figure this book out. And the further I read into this book, the more convoluted the craziness got so that I was pretty sure I was losing my sanity along with everyone else in this book.
What scares me the most, is that the mental illness like what was explored in this book is a real thing; its a sad and disheartening thing, and yet, this book brought up that hazy idea of perception and perspective. Who are we to decide because of the perception we have towards "crazy" people who is crazy and who is not, or who can handle society and who can not. And yet, I don't want to be mean or condescending or in away offensive but there is a very strong part of me now after reading that book that holds a fear for people out there in society that I could very well have contact with who are affected by such a mental illness like the character(s) in this book, and whether or not they are (or should be allowed- cuz' once again who are we to judge) living unchecked on the streets with no one realizing the potential harm they are causing others and themselves. It scares me as I read this book and I see the affects that this illness has, how it drains the life out of some and ruins relationships and causes so much strife. Unlike this author's first book where the kid struggled but did eventually understand his illness and sought help, this book had a very different twist in how its story was concluded for its characters that left me with so many more questions and second guessing what it was that I read, what wasn't real, and just who was crazy and just who would be held responsible or if anyone would be held responsible at all. This book plays so many games with my mind and I'm pretty sure at this point I'm probably over thinking it but this book certainly gave me such chills that only a few other thrillers have been able to do, and was written with such amazing talent and with such an amazing voice through which to share the story through.
This author had such a great voice; she captured the fear and frustration of the main character to such a fantastic degree as he struggled to come to terms with the troubles his sister was getting herself into as she spiraled out of control. There was never a dull moment. I couldn't even put this book down. After reading so many books that have just let me down and that couldn't even snag my attention from the start, this book was a fresh and wild ride that I seriously craved. This book had so many twists and turns; so many scenes that had my stomach twisting itself into knots. I kept rooting for this kid to keep going, to keep fighting through the pain and frustration because I was sure that in the end, this kid would be alright. Except the ending came and there couldn't' have been a crueler and harsher and more shocking twist. One that had my heart pounding and every party of me practically recoiling in shock from this book. Books are sometimes even better than roller coasters, because if this thing ever manifested itself into roller coaster form; it would have the carts flying off the tracks every time the ride was run.
I still don't know what to make of this ending. I wish there was some way I could scream a warning to the characters in this book. It wouldn't matter that the book's over because the story and its characters are still living on in my memory and its torture knowing how this book ended and somehow wishing that I could break past that dramatic irony the author created and make sure people learned the terrifying truth about what really happened. I have definitely found a couple of new favourite genres; every time that I read a thriller or psychological thriller, they just seem to captivate and scare more of the shit out of me for each new book that I read. These books are almost never a disappointment and always leave me reeling and wanting more at the same time.
Stephanie Kuehn is no different; she excels at writing books for these genres. She gets right inside of the character's heads and create such heavily convoluted plots that its like diving off a cliff every time you read one of her books; there's that rush of fear and exhilaration as you jump and just when you break the water, there's that little bit of pain you feel as all that pressure pushes back against the falling force of your body. She did a fantastic job on her first book, Charm & Strange; I loved that one, and she did just as a fantastic job on the second (if not making this one even more shocking than the first), and I can NOT wait for the third book she writes.