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A review by 12rhys23
Lost Among the Living by Simone St. James
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Slightly unsatisfied with the ending - you never get an explanation for the ghost/demon/whatever. But I think many of us women would agree that the true monster is the husband, Alex. Seriously! Arrogant, possessive, domineering. When he shows up after the halfway point, his wife specifically tells him not to touch, and he makes a point of ignoring her distress and slides a hand up her skirt. She says, get out of my room, and while he eventually does, she wakes up with him in her bed. "I didn't invite you into my bed" she tells him, and he refuses to sleep elsewhere. Then, he says the words that fill any rational woman with dread... "I'd rather die than be without you".... because what that usually means is, " after I kill you first". Shivers!
Not a fan of the instalove aspect either, because a big part of the plot is the fmc pining over this great lost love after WW1, and there's just no evidence of that. You read passages about the love they had, and there's nothing other than the physical/sex that connected them. Characters tell her "you didn't know your husband" and she acts offended, but its true! They barely spoke to each other before they had sex, and married two weeks after that. There's no love here.
The murderer reveal was also a let down, its the most disappointing, uninteresting choice available.
That said, when St. James ignores the dumb romance and gets down to the spooky stuff, she's much more adept at it. And Dottie is one of my favorite characters she's written. Everyone else is surface level dull.
4 stars, but might bump it to a 3.5 later.
Not a fan of the instalove aspect either, because a big part of the plot is the fmc pining over this great lost love after WW1, and there's just no evidence of that. You read passages about the love they had, and there's nothing other than the physical/sex that connected them. Characters tell her "you didn't know your husband" and she acts offended, but its true! They barely spoke to each other before they had sex, and married two weeks after that. There's no love here.
The murderer reveal was also a let down, its the most disappointing, uninteresting choice available.
That said, when St. James ignores the dumb romance and gets down to the spooky stuff, she's much more adept at it. And Dottie is one of my favorite characters she's written. Everyone else is surface level dull.
4 stars, but might bump it to a 3.5 later.