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heyyyitsericm 's review for:
Guess Who
by Chris McGeorge
Welcome to “Saw”...in literary form...with British people...and a lot less gore.
At the introduction, the reader is introduced to Morgan Sheppard, a man chained to a bed in a room with 5 other strangers. They soon discover there is a 6th man - and he is dead in the hotel room bathtub.
As the story unfolded, I was intrigued - even if the chosen characters were a bit cliche. Of course Sheppard is a self-involved celebrity (we learn that as the story progresses) with an alcohol and pain killer problem. So what he experiences is petty typical and is easy to predict.
The other characters are as multi-dimensional as they can be - with the concept that they are trapped in a room and don’t get a back story - because one of them is the alleged killer. So, their stories can’t be told immediately without giving a central plot point away.
Of course, as with the “Saw” movies, the story does start to lose momentum as it unfolds. The author even abandons some of the plot points that made the story tense in an attempt to maintain the suspense - but it comes across as just trying to prolong the story.
As Sheppard’s back story unfolds, if you’re a sleuth, and like a whodunit, you can begin to see the threads come together, which shows the author’s skill at weaving a good story. I did want to learn more - and it was nice to have the story be a bit more multi-layered than its original conceit. I mean, could you really maintain a “people locked in a room” story without at least some exposition and back story?!
Overall, a good psychological thriller, even with cliche-related shortcomings and relatively one-dimensional characters.
At the introduction, the reader is introduced to Morgan Sheppard, a man chained to a bed in a room with 5 other strangers. They soon discover there is a 6th man - and he is dead in the hotel room bathtub.
As the story unfolded, I was intrigued - even if the chosen characters were a bit cliche. Of course Sheppard is a self-involved celebrity (we learn that as the story progresses) with an alcohol and pain killer problem. So what he experiences is petty typical and is easy to predict.
The other characters are as multi-dimensional as they can be - with the concept that they are trapped in a room and don’t get a back story - because one of them is the alleged killer. So, their stories can’t be told immediately without giving a central plot point away.
Of course, as with the “Saw” movies, the story does start to lose momentum as it unfolds. The author even abandons some of the plot points that made the story tense in an attempt to maintain the suspense - but it comes across as just trying to prolong the story.
As Sheppard’s back story unfolds, if you’re a sleuth, and like a whodunit, you can begin to see the threads come together, which shows the author’s skill at weaving a good story. I did want to learn more - and it was nice to have the story be a bit more multi-layered than its original conceit. I mean, could you really maintain a “people locked in a room” story without at least some exposition and back story?!
Overall, a good psychological thriller, even with cliche-related shortcomings and relatively one-dimensional characters.