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A review by ms_aprilvincent
Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn
There’s a lot to think about here. I dont know how I feel yet.
Edit: To me, it seems that the author had an interesting story but didn’t execute it well. The problem is not with the writing. The problem is that the “twist” was both lazy and, frankly, offensive.
**this part is spoilerish**
It would’ve been a-ok to explore sociopathy and the measures one uses to hide crimes, evidence of crimes, and even memories of crimes. Instead, we get the cop-out of hiding behind a mysterious undiagnosable mental illness, which is, I don’t know: icky. the author spent the first half of the book showing characters in therapy, taking medication, and practicing mindfulness and relaxation exercises, all of which is very healthy! Then in the last chapter, she undoes it all with a very weak attempt at a gotcha.
That ending really ruined a lot of the goodwill I’d built up because, like I said, the writing is good! But the first part of the book made promises that the last part didn’t keep.
Edit: To me, it seems that the author had an interesting story but didn’t execute it well. The problem is not with the writing. The problem is that the “twist” was both lazy and, frankly, offensive.
**this part is spoilerish**
It would’ve been a-ok to explore sociopathy and the measures one uses to hide crimes, evidence of crimes, and even memories of crimes. Instead, we get the cop-out of hiding behind a mysterious undiagnosable mental illness, which is, I don’t know: icky. the author spent the first half of the book showing characters in therapy, taking medication, and practicing mindfulness and relaxation exercises, all of which is very healthy! Then in the last chapter, she undoes it all with a very weak attempt at a gotcha.
That ending really ruined a lot of the goodwill I’d built up because, like I said, the writing is good! But the first part of the book made promises that the last part didn’t keep.