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A review by moistforchoice
Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum
3.0
3.5 stars.
This is my first Karin Fossum book - was really missing some good psychological crime mysteries with strong character development and an engaging plot (ie. Tana French) - so I trawled through forums looking for similar readers looking to quench the French thirst (this sounds much better in my head you know) and found a whole lot of authors, including Fossum. I know it's a bit unfair to start reading an author like that but I'm so tiffed with the person who suggested her because she's nothing like French.
Fossum holds her water well with this book - a popular, generally do-gooder teenager turns up dead, seemingly sexually assaulted in a small town, and no one knows why because there is no one in her life, or nothing she did leading up to that fateful day that suggested she was about to be killed. Pretty solid novel with lots of turns and twists and great, simple prose. Unfortunately, with the oversaturation - and that's the massive understatement of the what, past few years - of murder mysteries with popular, shining-star young girls, small towns, secret diaries and what not, it really is just another book in the pile which isn't really worth my time to read. I wasn't impressed with the numerous tropes I picked out from the book:
Young Girl Who Is Loved By Everyone
But She Stole Something So Maybe She Wasn't As Perfect As They Come
Small Town With Secrets
Oh Maybe It Was Her Family
Isolated Male Individual That Everyone Suspects
Perfect Family Facades
Misdirection (I Thought It Was About The Child With The Bunnies)
Possible Sexual Element To Crime
Grumpy For No Reason Inspectors
Boyfriend That Everyone Is Starting To Suspect
They aren't even spoilers because literally you could have predicted it.
Honestly, I could enjoy the book. It's fun, it kept the pages turning... it really just isn't for me when I have other more unique, interesting books to read yanoo?
This is my first Karin Fossum book - was really missing some good psychological crime mysteries with strong character development and an engaging plot (ie. Tana French) - so I trawled through forums looking for similar readers looking to quench the French thirst (this sounds much better in my head you know) and found a whole lot of authors, including Fossum. I know it's a bit unfair to start reading an author like that but I'm so tiffed with the person who suggested her because she's nothing like French.
Fossum holds her water well with this book - a popular, generally do-gooder teenager turns up dead, seemingly sexually assaulted in a small town, and no one knows why because there is no one in her life, or nothing she did leading up to that fateful day that suggested she was about to be killed. Pretty solid novel with lots of turns and twists and great, simple prose. Unfortunately, with the oversaturation - and that's the massive understatement of the what, past few years - of murder mysteries with popular, shining-star young girls, small towns, secret diaries and what not, it really is just another book in the pile which isn't really worth my time to read. I wasn't impressed with the numerous tropes I picked out from the book:
Young Girl Who Is Loved By Everyone
But She Stole Something So Maybe She Wasn't As Perfect As They Come
Small Town With Secrets
Oh Maybe It Was Her Family
Isolated Male Individual That Everyone Suspects
Perfect Family Facades
Misdirection (I Thought It Was About The Child With The Bunnies)
Possible Sexual Element To Crime
Grumpy For No Reason Inspectors
Boyfriend That Everyone Is Starting To Suspect
They aren't even spoilers because literally you could have predicted it.
Honestly, I could enjoy the book. It's fun, it kept the pages turning... it really just isn't for me when I have other more unique, interesting books to read yanoo?