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A review by meloches
Guilty by Laura Elliot
2.0
After a fight with her parents, thirteen-year-old Constance is reported missing. Her uncle, Karl, a man with a complicated past, finds himself implicated in her crime when a devious journalist, Amanda, suggests he could be the prime suspect. Karl’s life is essentially ruined. Six years later, Amanda finds herself in a mother’s worst nightmare when her own son goes missing. Could it be a coincidence? Or could it be past sins have come to back to haunt her?
Guilty was completely different than what I was expecting and if left me feeling quite the amount of mixed emotions. Let me explain.
What I Loved:
The characters in this one were awesome. I hated Amanda. HATED HER. It takes quite the penmanship to really make a reader feel that type of blind hatred and make it blatantly jump off the pages. I was expecting the plot to follow the typical abduction narrative, but I was surprised when it chose, instead, to split the novel into several separate sections that focused on the abduction, the aftermath, six years later, etc. It really made the plot stand out. I also liked that this one followed and developed the relationship between the accused and the reporter who essentially led the witch-hunt against him. It isn’t often a relationship like that is explored. Along with this, I loved how the first sections of the novel really drove home the media’s influence on news and how the media can truly manipulate an investigation. I found this to be fascinating and I felt like Elliot did a brilliant job at portraying this notion within the pages.
What I Struggled With:
I did find the pacing of Guilty to be a little slow for my liking. As mentioned above, the novel is split into several sections and I found that some parts of the plot really dragged. There were whole sections that felt like filler to make the story longer. I didn’t necessarily find they added anything to the plot. I also didn’t feel this one read like a psychological thriller; in my thrillers, I expect to be on the edge of my seat and completely confused about the plot and where it is going. This one focused more on the aftermath of an abduction and kind of read like contemporary family drama.
Overall, if you are looking for a fast paced, on the edge of your seat style thriller, I think this one will disappoint. However, if you like a slow burn that deals with relationships and what ifs, then I think you have found your next read!
Guilty was completely different than what I was expecting and if left me feeling quite the amount of mixed emotions. Let me explain.
What I Loved:
The characters in this one were awesome. I hated Amanda. HATED HER. It takes quite the penmanship to really make a reader feel that type of blind hatred and make it blatantly jump off the pages. I was expecting the plot to follow the typical abduction narrative, but I was surprised when it chose, instead, to split the novel into several separate sections that focused on the abduction, the aftermath, six years later, etc. It really made the plot stand out. I also liked that this one followed and developed the relationship between the accused and the reporter who essentially led the witch-hunt against him. It isn’t often a relationship like that is explored. Along with this, I loved how the first sections of the novel really drove home the media’s influence on news and how the media can truly manipulate an investigation. I found this to be fascinating and I felt like Elliot did a brilliant job at portraying this notion within the pages.
What I Struggled With:
I did find the pacing of Guilty to be a little slow for my liking. As mentioned above, the novel is split into several sections and I found that some parts of the plot really dragged. There were whole sections that felt like filler to make the story longer. I didn’t necessarily find they added anything to the plot. I also didn’t feel this one read like a psychological thriller; in my thrillers, I expect to be on the edge of my seat and completely confused about the plot and where it is going. This one focused more on the aftermath of an abduction and kind of read like contemporary family drama.
Overall, if you are looking for a fast paced, on the edge of your seat style thriller, I think this one will disappoint. However, if you like a slow burn that deals with relationships and what ifs, then I think you have found your next read!