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A review by catapillar
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
(Mild backstory and B plot spoilers)
I did not enjoy this book at all, I'll admit, I asked chatgpt for a book recommedation - something with old houses and secret passageways, please - and this is what I recieved.
This was barely thrilling, the MC was stupid, dull, and inconsistent, which would be fine except all this pulled away from the thrill and tension of the book, I would even say everything pulled away from the tension of the book.
There was a lack of build-up, too much unnecessary bulk. Contrived. Telling and no showing, the characters voices indistinguishable from each other. There's no tension, and really it's just filled with small talk.
In the first half of the book, notably the motif of the 'scary' wallpaper that the book kept going to. What is so scary about wallpaper?
Somehow, there was a mystery in all this that the MC conveniently stumbled into. Bumbling and naive. Irritating in what she did and did not understand.
And apparently, it was a thriller? If you want to create tension in your book, fill interactions, pacing, and dialogue with tension!
After the doctor asks Jules how her arm is, she replies:
"it's great" and "thanks for, you know, fixing it."
Having a character hurt themselves but be genuinely fine diminishes the scene's tension. And minimises the thrill of the book, especially when it happens over and over again.
(Yes, I know in this example it was because she liked him, but my point is that this kind of thing happened multiple times).
Fashion and name brands seem to be a big part of the main character and the energy of the book. These things bore me if not simply going over my head. (The book is quite vain in general in the way it describes people and things).
The main character is basic and obsessed with wealth and brands. By her own admittance, she has loved brands since she was young.
She weirdly is thinking about this at her parents' funeral. About wanting fruit loops (not generic froot loops) as a child and more generally how much her "name-brand obsession cost over time" for both her parents. I get that it was ultimately about regret, but far, far more words were dedicated to describing food with only a final sentence about regret.
I want to read books where, when the main character remembers her parents' terminal illness, talks not about fruit loops and insurance plans but about what it was like to experience. The emotions, what are they thinking and feeling, the events, what was it actually like?
I dont expect anyone to be reading this, but if you are, so sorry I know it's rambling, I'm much better at reading than I am with writing.
If you are young and like petty revenge, clichés and fashion, have a sensitive system but like a mild thrill, then I recommend this book.
I did not enjoy this book at all, I'll admit, I asked chatgpt for a book recommedation - something with old houses and secret passageways, please - and this is what I recieved.
This was barely thrilling, the MC was stupid, dull, and inconsistent, which would be fine except all this pulled away from the thrill and tension of the book, I would even say everything pulled away from the tension of the book.
There was a lack of build-up, too much unnecessary bulk. Contrived. Telling and no showing, the characters voices indistinguishable from each other. There's no tension, and really it's just filled with small talk.
In the first half of the book, notably the motif of the 'scary' wallpaper that the book kept going to. What is so scary about wallpaper?
Somehow, there was a mystery in all this that the MC conveniently stumbled into. Bumbling and naive. Irritating in what she did and did not understand.
And apparently, it was a thriller? If you want to create tension in your book, fill interactions, pacing, and dialogue with tension!
After the doctor asks Jules how her arm is, she replies:
"it's great" and "thanks for, you know, fixing it."
Having a character hurt themselves but be genuinely fine diminishes the scene's tension. And minimises the thrill of the book, especially when it happens over and over again.
(Yes, I know in this example it was because she liked him, but my point is that this kind of thing happened multiple times).
Fashion and name brands seem to be a big part of the main character and the energy of the book. These things bore me if not simply going over my head. (The book is quite vain in general in the way it describes people and things).
The main character is basic and obsessed with wealth and brands. By her own admittance, she has loved brands since she was young.
She weirdly is thinking about this at her parents' funeral. About wanting fruit loops (not generic froot loops) as a child and more generally how much her "name-brand obsession cost over time" for both her parents. I get that it was ultimately about regret, but far, far more words were dedicated to describing food with only a final sentence about regret.
I want to read books where, when the main character remembers her parents' terminal illness, talks not about fruit loops and insurance plans but about what it was like to experience. The emotions, what are they thinking and feeling, the events, what was it actually like?
I dont expect anyone to be reading this, but if you are, so sorry I know it's rambling, I'm much better at reading than I am with writing.
If you are young and like petty revenge, clichés and fashion, have a sensitive system but like a mild thrill, then I recommend this book.