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A review by husnaibrahim_
No Peace, No Quiet: A Crime Thriller by Harper Shaw
1.5
This is one of the most frustrating books I’ve encountered in a while. Not because the murder mystery was some kind of brain-twister, but because the writing style made the female main character almost unbearable.
As I listened to the audiobook, one consistent thing kept going through my head “Why is it so repetitive?? She keeps saying the same thing. And If she genuinely trusts Andy, why hasn’t she confided in him about the road incident? I mean shes clearly an amateur, so she can’t solve this issue alone!”
I can’t blame the narrator for this, as it’s clearly an issue with the book’s structure. Because this book is poorly written. Roughly 60% of the content felt like recycled filler, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a sentence that didn’t reappear at least three times, if not more, throughout the book.
The only thing I liked was her finally learning more about her parents from Aaron. But, on that note, what in the world did she and her uncle ever discuss if her parents were never brought up? It’s baffling that she had to rely on a stranger to fill in the most basic details.
Then there’s the core plot, the murder of her uncle, and her trying to solve it. Which was fine especially with the help of Andy but what was sorely lacking was more background information. We needed at least one chapter to fill in the gaps about her life before leaving town, her life during visits to her uncle, her childhood friendship with Andy, and so on.
Because while it was believable that he loved her because they were childhood best friends, it was hard to connect with them. She came across as somewhat cowardly, playing the scaredy-cat, and he seemed to emerge out of thin air. Plus as I said, no background information whatsoever.
I’m just so annoyed I stuck with the book, despite my inner debate about giving up on it, because I genuinely wanted to know who and why her parents and uncle were murdered. I even started settling into the book and enjoying the interactions between Andy and her. But when I finally discovered the reasons behind the murders, I was mad all over again. Because that was the most useless and twisted reason. Perhaps it might have worked in a different situation or context, but in this scenario, it felt poorly executed and left me doubting the credibility of the culprits and their motives.
Then there was how they were rescued in the ending! It might have worked if the book was set up to be more of an FBI thriller or if we got introduced to them somewhat in the middle but out of nowhere? Yeah it just doesn’t make sense.
In the end, this book feels like a mystery that aims for shock value but misses the mark. It’s akin to putting together the best episodes from an FBI series but the pieces didn’t fit together seamlessly. Also with not much substance holding it together, if that makes sense.
That’s why, while I hate to be so harsh, I can’t help but think this is probably the worst book I’ve encountered this year.encountered this year.
As I listened to the audiobook, one consistent thing kept going through my head “Why is it so repetitive?? She keeps saying the same thing. And If she genuinely trusts Andy, why hasn’t she confided in him about the road incident? I mean shes clearly an amateur, so she can’t solve this issue alone!”
I can’t blame the narrator for this, as it’s clearly an issue with the book’s structure. Because this book is poorly written. Roughly 60% of the content felt like recycled filler, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a sentence that didn’t reappear at least three times, if not more, throughout the book.
The only thing I liked was her finally learning more about her parents from Aaron. But, on that note, what in the world did she and her uncle ever discuss if her parents were never brought up? It’s baffling that she had to rely on a stranger to fill in the most basic details.
Then there’s the core plot, the murder of her uncle, and her trying to solve it. Which was fine especially with the help of Andy but what was sorely lacking was more background information. We needed at least one chapter to fill in the gaps about her life before leaving town, her life during visits to her uncle, her childhood friendship with Andy, and so on.
Because while it was believable that he loved her because they were childhood best friends, it was hard to connect with them. She came across as somewhat cowardly, playing the scaredy-cat, and he seemed to emerge out of thin air. Plus as I said, no background information whatsoever.
I’m just so annoyed I stuck with the book, despite my inner debate about giving up on it, because I genuinely wanted to know who and why her parents and uncle were murdered. I even started settling into the book and enjoying the interactions between Andy and her. But when I finally discovered the reasons behind the murders, I was mad all over again. Because that was the most useless and twisted reason. Perhaps it might have worked in a different situation or context, but in this scenario, it felt poorly executed and left me doubting the credibility of the culprits and their motives.
Then there was how they were rescued in the ending! It might have worked if the book was set up to be more of an FBI thriller or if we got introduced to them somewhat in the middle but out of nowhere? Yeah it just doesn’t make sense.
In the end, this book feels like a mystery that aims for shock value but misses the mark. It’s akin to putting together the best episodes from an FBI series but the pieces didn’t fit together seamlessly. Also with not much substance holding it together, if that makes sense.
That’s why, while I hate to be so harsh, I can’t help but think this is probably the worst book I’ve encountered this year.encountered this year.