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A review by sophiesometimesreads
The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was well-paced, in my opinion, as it kept my attention the whole time, though I did go in with the expectation that this was more of a mystery over a thriller so wasn't expecting a super fast pace. Some people seem to feel like it dragged in the middle but I didn't really find this to happen for me.
I didn't pick much of the nitty gritty details (and most of the time when I did it was two pages before it was revealed in text). Some of the overarching details I did get, but I was questioning myself the whole time, and there was one reveal that really shocked me but made sense when looking back, so that was fun. I was hoping for a little more of a shocking reveal for a five star read, but there were components that shocked me so I wasn't disappointed, just felt like there was a little room for more shocking details or a big twist to the overarching narrative. In saying this, all the loose ends were tied up one way or another which is something I really appreciate about Holly Jackson's novels. Even the red herrings were explained away.
A lot of the characters are unlikeable, so if that's not your think you might not enjoy this, but I thought it made for an interesting dynamic between them all. Bel did get a bit frustrating at times, but it wasn't enough for me to hate her or to feel as if I didn't want to keep reading. I did feel like her character development happened a little quickly at the end though, and could've been fleshed out a little more, particulalry given the length of the novel, but it was still good to see how her character changed and grew across this novel.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this and if you like HJ's other novels, I'm sure you'll also like this one!
I didn't pick much of the nitty gritty details (and most of the time when I did it was two pages before it was revealed in text). Some of the overarching details I did get, but I was questioning myself the whole time, and there was one reveal that really shocked me but made sense when looking back, so that was fun. I was hoping for a little more of a shocking reveal for a five star read, but there were components that shocked me so I wasn't disappointed, just felt like there was a little room for more shocking details or a big twist to the overarching narrative. In saying this, all the loose ends were tied up one way or another which is something I really appreciate about Holly Jackson's novels. Even the red herrings were explained away.
A lot of the characters are unlikeable, so if that's not your think you might not enjoy this, but I thought it made for an interesting dynamic between them all. Bel did get a bit frustrating at times, but it wasn't enough for me to hate her or to feel as if I didn't want to keep reading. I did feel like her character development happened a little quickly at the end though, and could've been fleshed out a little more, particulalry given the length of the novel, but it was still good to see how her character changed and grew across this novel.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this and if you like HJ's other novels, I'm sure you'll also like this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Stalking, and Dementia
Moderate: Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Minor: Eating disorder