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A review by nicoletetreault
The Night I Died by Anne Frasier
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I personally found this book very difficult to follow. I listened to the audiobook version and even after reading the blurb and trying to find some notes online to help me along, I felt like I had no idea what was going on most of the time. It starts off with Olivia going back to her hometown to help investigate a murder and clear Bonnie's name, but as the book goes on, I feel like she has just completely given up on the investigation and the book becomes more about the other wild things happening in this little town. Like the obsession with pies that ended up being the most exciting part of the book when the whole town ends up poisoned by them at an ice cream social? What does that even have to do with the premise of the book? And I still have no idea what the point of Will being in this book is. Other than the weird love story between him & Olivia, his character just felt completely unnecessary and more like fluff than anything else. And I feel the title is very misleading. It references the night of the train crash, which while I will agree that was the catalyst for the crazy pie lady (who's name I cannot remember right now) to hate Olivia, why did that drive her to try and kill the entire town's population?
While this book is titled "The Night I Died", it didn't feel like that night was actually that important to this book ( I did go into more detail about this in the spoiler but also wanted to mention it without ruining anything for those who don't want the spoilers). It was revisited a lot throughout the book, but more in a way where Olivia was dealing with the trauma that came from that night's events. The main events of the book feel quite disconnected from that night, and I feel like we kind of fall too far from the premise of the book at one point. The blurb notes that Olivia returns to her hometown to investigate this murder, but in the end I don't recall there being any mention of the investigation at all. It's like she got distracted and gave up? But to be honest, I don't think she was great at her job to begin with. There wasn't much of an investigation at all.
Overall, it just felt messy and confusing. The characters don't have much personality and aren't very likable, the plot is all over the place, and it just feels impossible to keep track of how parts relate to each other. I'd never necessarily tell anyone to not read a book because everyone has different preferences, but I definitely will not be going out of my way to recommend this to anyone.
While this book is titled "The Night I Died", it didn't feel like that night was actually that important to this book ( I did go into more detail about this in the spoiler but also wanted to mention it without ruining anything for those who don't want the spoilers). It was revisited a lot throughout the book, but more in a way where Olivia was dealing with the trauma that came from that night's events. The main events of the book feel quite disconnected from that night, and I feel like we kind of fall too far from the premise of the book at one point. The blurb notes that Olivia returns to her hometown to investigate this murder, but in the end I don't recall there being any mention of the investigation at all. It's like she got distracted and gave up? But to be honest, I don't think she was great at her job to begin with. There wasn't much of an investigation at all.
Overall, it just felt messy and confusing. The characters don't have much personality and aren't very likable, the plot is all over the place, and it just feels impossible to keep track of how parts relate to each other. I'd never necessarily tell anyone to not read a book because everyone has different preferences, but I definitely will not be going out of my way to recommend this to anyone.