Scan barcode
A review by stephanieanneauthor
Suicide Forest by Jeremy Bates
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This review contains spoilers! I typically try to avoid them in my reviews but I have thoughts about the ending.
As this book was included with my Audible membership, I decided to give it a try as I do like the idea of a series of books based on real-life places. At worst, I figured this would be too touristy; at best, I might end up reading something akin to "The Ritual" by Adam Nevill. What I ended up reading was neither.
The story was stop-and-start when it came to the action. Just as I thought things were going to start getting good and gory, it devolved into seemingly never ending dick measuring contests between the guys. The girls added little to the plot and were little more than sex objects. Because of this, and other reasons, I found the characters annoying.
And although I was hoping for a ghost story, I did like the back and forth of "is this a ghost or is this a crazed human killer?" Again, the answer was much different. I can honestly say I was not expecting that a tribe of feral rapists were to blame. And that last quarter of the book where the "big bad" is revealed was certainly the most action packed and interesting. But it was also ridiculous. At times, it felt like the final climactic moments belonged to another story entirely.
I went into this hoping for "The Grudge" and ended up getting "The Hills have Eyes" instead.
As this book was included with my Audible membership, I decided to give it a try as I do like the idea of a series of books based on real-life places. At worst, I figured this would be too touristy; at best, I might end up reading something akin to "The Ritual" by Adam Nevill. What I ended up reading was neither.
The story was stop-and-start when it came to the action. Just as I thought things were going to start getting good and gory, it devolved into seemingly never ending dick measuring contests between the guys. The girls added little to the plot and were little more than sex objects. Because of this, and other reasons, I found the characters annoying.
And although I was hoping for a ghost story, I did like the back and forth of "is this a ghost or is this a crazed human killer?" Again, the answer was much different. I can honestly say I was not expecting that a tribe of feral rapists were to blame. And that last quarter of the book where the "big bad" is revealed was certainly the most action packed and interesting. But it was also ridiculous. At times, it felt like the final climactic moments belonged to another story entirely.
I went into this hoping for "The Grudge" and ended up getting "The Hills have Eyes" instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Cursing, Medical content, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Drug use, Murder, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Rape, and Excrement
Minor: Stalking and Self harm