A review by kfmcf
The No-Show by Beth O'Leary

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I'm going to out this entire review in spoiler brackets for my own sanity -

I knew there was a twist, obviously, and I will say that it was not overtly telegraphed which was very well done. When i saw that it was 2019 towards then end right before the reveal, I knew that was significant in some way. However, I don't think the characters Endings were what I would have hoped.

First off, Siobhan was the only character with growth and then she DIED. So that was a big bummer. Miranda was great to start and then n o t h i n g happened with her. And Jane had an interesting plot but as a character only HAD that plot as a trait. I wish she had more layers because I could not understand why he liked her so much. 

Why did Miranda call him Carter. I wish that had been explained. It was kind of weird.

I think this book could have still been fascinating and utilized that twist without Siobhan dying from a traffic accident. Felt like shock value and I just...felt a bit betrayed as a reader in a lot of ways.


I am more intrigued to read O'Leary's other books now. I've been wanting to check out The Road Trip for awhile, but I think I'll definitely add The Switch to my list, too.
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