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A review by pippa_w
Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon
2.5
‘Should someone else’s family be ripped apart before this is solved?’
So here's the thing about Try Not to Breathe. This is a very well-built story by a very skilled writer about an alcoholic journalist trying to solve a cold case of attempted murder. However: though it has a whole bunch of unnecessary domestic thriller tropes tacked on, this book is not a thriller. It is a relatively slow-paced mystery with practically non-existent stakes.
Indeed, this quote may define the book: She was treading water. Or maybe wine.
Aside from and perhaps partially due to some pretty substantial info-dumping in the first few chapters, Holly Seddon really shows off her journalism chops in this book. This book is highly readable and clearly and concisely told. I also think that is what trips Seddon up - if she and her publisher wanted this to be a thriller, she needed to build the suspense with some twist and turns and some unreliable perspectives. Because she is such an efficient writer, she was unable to accomplish either.
In a thriller, it is not enough to have a stable, complex plot and well-honed, individual characters. To accomplish a thriller, there must be stakes, there must be a contemporary threat, there must be suspense. None of these things are here, and anything approaching it turns out to be short-lived and inconsequential to the story.
Something highly refreshing that she does accomplish? Empowering her ladies. She has four very different central female characters, and they all have power and agency in their own way. This book is an unexpected healing journey for all four of them, and ultimately they are able to lift each other up despite the twisted situation they have found themselves in. I love this.
SpoilerI kept that smile on my face like warpaint.
He looked away and hung his head.
Other than that... this is a simple cold case whodunnit (you'll probably know who did it by about halfway through) with an edge given by some typical thriller tropes and characters. Approach it expecting that, and you'll like this one.
I hope I’m not so scared when I’m in my thirties.
So here's the thing about Try Not to Breathe. This is a very well-built story by a very skilled writer about an alcoholic journalist trying to solve a cold case of attempted murder. However: though it has a whole bunch of unnecessary domestic thriller tropes tacked on, this book is not a thriller. It is a relatively slow-paced mystery with practically non-existent stakes.
Indeed, this quote may define the book: She was treading water. Or maybe wine.
Aside from and perhaps partially due to some pretty substantial info-dumping in the first few chapters, Holly Seddon really shows off her journalism chops in this book. This book is highly readable and clearly and concisely told. I also think that is what trips Seddon up - if she and her publisher wanted this to be a thriller, she needed to build the suspense with some twist and turns and some unreliable perspectives. Because she is such an efficient writer, she was unable to accomplish either.
In a thriller, it is not enough to have a stable, complex plot and well-honed, individual characters. To accomplish a thriller, there must be stakes, there must be a contemporary threat, there must be suspense. None of these things are here, and anything approaching it turns out to be short-lived and inconsequential to the story.
Something highly refreshing that she does accomplish? Empowering her ladies. She has four very different central female characters, and they all have power and agency in their own way. This book is an unexpected healing journey for all four of them, and ultimately they are able to lift each other up despite the twisted situation they have found themselves in. I love this.
SpoilerI kept that smile on my face like warpaint.
He looked away and hung his head.
Other than that... this is a simple cold case whodunnit (you'll probably know who did it by about halfway through) with an edge given by some typical thriller tropes and characters. Approach it expecting that, and you'll like this one.
I hope I’m not so scared when I’m in my thirties.