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astoriareader 's review for:

Message Deleted by K.L. Slater
3.0
dark slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
SYNOPSIS
  • Right before a big job interview, Saffy gets a cryptic text from her best friend, Leona: Can’t speak… don’t text or call… please just come.
  • Before Saffy can make sense of it, the message vanishes — This message was deleted.
  • When Saffy rushes to Leona’s house, Leona insists everything’s fine. Hours later, police show up at Saffy’s door. Leona and her young son are missing — and there’s blood everywhere. Saffy was the last person to see them alive.

MY THOUGHTS
  • The premise hooked me right away — the whole “vanishing message” setup felt fresh and had so much potential.
  • Unfortunately, the execution didn’t match the concept. The story dragged, and the book could’ve easily been 100 pages shorter without losing anything important.
  • The characters? Absolutely insufferable. Not a likable one in the bunch, which made it tough to care what happened to any of them.
  • The police were cartoonishly incompetent, to the point where it felt less like a thriller and more like a parody of one.
  • Also, can we talk about the names? Lol. Idk I didn’t like them.
  • For a thriller, there wasn’t much actual thrill — just a lot of repetitive dialogue and characters making baffling decisions.
  • Overall, it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever read, but it definitely didn’t live up to the hook that drew me in.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️intriguing premise but quickly fizzled out thanks to a bloated plot, irritating characters, and a total lack of suspense. 

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on March 3, 2025.
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