A review by podanotherjessi
Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay

mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

I don't read a lot of mystery, so my opinion here should be taken with a pinch of salt. But this book bored me. I felt like the whole thing could have been wrapped up in an hour long TV show instead of a full novel, and that's probably a good sign mysteries might not be for me.
Beyond that, I didn't care about the characters at all. The main characters were boring, and the background characters felt cartoonish. Every time someone new was introduced, we got a chunk of description about who they were - what they look like, what their personality is, how they're connected to the MC. It was very telling, not showing. And this happened for everyone, no matter how unimportant they are.
There were also a lot of extrenuous detail and flashbacks that felt pointless. Maybe they were meant to be red herrings or to distract the reader, but it all felt unneeded. Very mild spoilers, example:
At one point the MC talks about not being able to stay with his aunt cause she has cats and he's allergic. Okay, small detail, not bad. But then the book flashes back to how he found out he was allergic, and there was no point to it.


Characters: 4
Plot: 7
Setting: 3
General appeal: 5
Writing style: 3
Originality 6
Ending: 7
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