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A review by novellearts
The Red Knot by Asher Monique
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
3.75/5 stars rounded up.
This was such an ominous and dark read! Set on an Alaskan island, a woman is found murdered, and other girls have gone missing. It becomes a race for Detective Audra to try to find out what happened to the murdered island therapist and to save the missing girls. She soon discovers that these present-day crimes might be connected to some gruesome past murders.
Audra starts looking into Valorie, who suffers from memory loss and is also the daughter of the town's infamous cult leader. As Audra dives into her investigation, she starts to uncover dark secrets and doesn't know who she can trust.
The book maintains an eerie, dark tone throughout the whole story. I really enjoyed the writing in this and the character development. One character in particular is incredibly fascinating. Valorie, at the beginning of the book, is immediately revealed to suffer from multiple personality disorder (clinically known as dissociative identity disorder). Her mind has split from her childhood traumas and has caused her memory to have chunks missing. Valorie will occasionally wake up without any recollection of past days. All she has is a deep feeling of dread that something awful has happened in her absence. I've read only a handful of books about DID but never fail to be amazed by them.
The crimes within this book are disturbing and gruesome. There is some sensitive content within this book dealing with rape, but it wasn't overly detailed. Sometimes authors will place too much emphasis on these scenes and describing the actual act to the point where it feels like a fantasy. I didn't think that was the case here. While still uncomfortable, it didn't feel drawn out. The mystery and sleuthing in this book was attention-grabbing. I loved seeing the investigation unfold and all of the pieces start to come together.
Most of the book was gripping: the story, the mystery, the characters. But I also felt as though it dragged on at certain points. I lost a bit of steam about midway through the book, where I felt like not much progress was being made, but the feeling didn't last too long, and it quickly picked back up. This was mostly what knocked my rating down.
I struggled a bit with the shifting perspectives as well. The story unfolds under the POV of Audra (lead detective) and Valorie. But Valorie, we also would follow under her split personalities. The story would also jump between present day and the past. While it did work and it did add to the story, it didn't always feel as seamless to me as I think it could've.
As someone who is generally incredibly intrigued by DID and cults, this book was a fun ride. There were parts that were a bit predictable and others that weren't. There were some revenge scenes towards the end which felt incredibly gratifying to read. Definitely worth the read, but be sure to check the content warnings before picking this one up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for the arc. All opinions are my own.
Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7456512777?book_show_action=false
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/0acc6084-7c3f-4cb2-abbb-a1a56bd66539/share
This was such an ominous and dark read! Set on an Alaskan island, a woman is found murdered, and other girls have gone missing. It becomes a race for Detective Audra to try to find out what happened to the murdered island therapist and to save the missing girls. She soon discovers that these present-day crimes might be connected to some gruesome past murders.
Audra starts looking into Valorie, who suffers from memory loss and is also the daughter of the town's infamous cult leader. As Audra dives into her investigation, she starts to uncover dark secrets and doesn't know who she can trust.
The book maintains an eerie, dark tone throughout the whole story. I really enjoyed the writing in this and the character development. One character in particular is incredibly fascinating. Valorie, at the beginning of the book, is immediately revealed to suffer from multiple personality disorder (clinically known as dissociative identity disorder). Her mind has split from her childhood traumas and has caused her memory to have chunks missing. Valorie will occasionally wake up without any recollection of past days. All she has is a deep feeling of dread that something awful has happened in her absence. I've read only a handful of books about DID but never fail to be amazed by them.
The crimes within this book are disturbing and gruesome. There is some sensitive content within this book dealing with rape, but it wasn't overly detailed. Sometimes authors will place too much emphasis on these scenes and describing the actual act to the point where it feels like a fantasy. I didn't think that was the case here. While still uncomfortable, it didn't feel drawn out. The mystery and sleuthing in this book was attention-grabbing. I loved seeing the investigation unfold and all of the pieces start to come together.
Most of the book was gripping: the story, the mystery, the characters. But I also felt as though it dragged on at certain points. I lost a bit of steam about midway through the book, where I felt like not much progress was being made, but the feeling didn't last too long, and it quickly picked back up. This was mostly what knocked my rating down.
I struggled a bit with the shifting perspectives as well. The story unfolds under the POV of Audra (lead detective) and Valorie. But Valorie, we also would follow under her split personalities. The story would also jump between present day and the past. While it did work and it did add to the story, it didn't always feel as seamless to me as I think it could've.
As someone who is generally incredibly intrigued by DID and cults, this book was a fun ride. There were parts that were a bit predictable and others that weren't. There were some revenge scenes towards the end which felt incredibly gratifying to read. Definitely worth the read, but be sure to check the content warnings before picking this one up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for the arc. All opinions are my own.
Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7456512777?book_show_action=false
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/0acc6084-7c3f-4cb2-abbb-a1a56bd66539/share
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail