terriblyunclever 's review for:

I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell

3.25

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I offered this as a "mass appeal" option in my list of books for my work's book club to select from, and of course they went for the least challenging read. The good thing: It was genuinely tense and scary. The two mysteries running through the book (Alex's past and Francis's murder) were solved in a satisfying way and the last 50 pages ratcheted up the intensity in a relevant way. The bad thing: It seemed ungrounded, like the central plot point of a New York Times-level newspaper existing on a staff of four and supported solely by the popularity of an advice column? A manipulative narcissistic man is as good a villain as any, and the story explored the far-ranging effects of the abusive relationship. The secondary characters needed a bit more development, the author of the Lost Girl letters was obvious, and the idea of a woman feeling reasonably uncomfortable with any men was welcome. I was disappointed when the Lucy harassment story was faked. The story was riddled with potentially scary men and it validated those fears - except for that aspect that veered a little too close to "not all men" territory. And wait a second... weren't all the killers ultimately women...? Hmmmm.