Review by mossybookworm - Midnight on Beacon Street

mossybookworm 's review for:

Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona

2.0

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really feel what this book WANTED to be. There's a lot of nostalgia here - for childhood, for the early 90s and the horror movies of the era, for babysitting and the dynamics at play there. None of that particularly worked for me, and the jumping timeline made it fall even flatter. It would absolutely kill any sense of suspense and momentum and it felt like it was trying too hard to insert twists that weren't particularly compelling. The "clues" and even red herrings feel heavy handed. It feels like the book wants to read like an edge-of-your-seat slasher movie, but the characters read as unbelievable and annoying and the pacing was all wrong. I think the author nails a lot about being a kid, and especially being a young girl and a slightly older girl sizing each other up and trying to look out for themselves, but this wasn't enough to hold the book up for me. I'm frustrated because I think I would have enjoyed a shorter and more tightly edited version of this.

Content Warnings