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yvo_about_books 's review for:
Beneath Devil's Bridge
by Loreth Anne White
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Finished reading: October 22nd 2024
“A person can think they’re fine. They can believe they’ve overcome or effectively compartmentalized negative events, but traumatic memory—it can become locked into the body.”
I’ve been meaning to try this author for quite some time now, and I thought that Beneath Devil’s Bridge would be a fitting read for Halloween month. I love a good podcast angle in my thrillers, and it is the true crime podcast that is the driving force behind the plot of this story. Beneath Devil's Bridge uses a dual timeline structure as well as multiple POVs, switching between 1997 when Leena's murder took place and the present. The switching back and forth did slow down the pace in points, but the story was quite easy to follow and the flashback chapters gave better insight of what really happened back then. I do have to say that I had mixed thoughts about the characters, who were quite flawed and not that easy to warm up to. I liked Rachel's POV better than Trinity's POV, mostly because Trinity only seems to be there to become famous for most of the plot. Sure, certain reveals will put everything on its head... But by then it was a bit late for her character to redeem herself. There were also certain twists that simply weren't credible, and I just can't believe that the cops were never able to get to the truth back then. It was all a bit too convenient... I can't deny that it still made for a very engaging story though, and there is no doubt that the story goes out with a bang. If you are able to suspend your disbelief, Beneath Devil's Bridge makes for a very intriguing read indeed... And it has definitely made me want to read more of her work in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail