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bunnypearl 's review for:
If I Disappear
by Eliza Jane Brazier
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I wanted to like this book, but it just didn't hit the mark for me. The attempts at a feminist argument bleed too much into Sera's obsessive tendencies, making her arguments against being the "crazy woman" pretty weak. After all, she literally drove out to the middle of nowhere because a podcast host she liked stopped posting and was much too obvious about her investigation in the process. She might not be a crazy woman in the way other people treat her, but she certainly wasn't right in the head for doing all this. To sum it up, Sera isn't a terribly likable character and isn't very easy to feel sorry for, seeing as she could have just...not put herself in danger.
The last couple chapters of the book also leave a few threads dangling even now. I know Homer was supposed to be suspicious from the start, but then it turns out he did nothing at all. Red herrings are good, especially in true crime-based books, but this felt sort of cheap. The characters outside of Sera are pretty weird to begin with, but I felt like using the brother as a prop was just an okay plot point instead of a stronger one.
I won't go on too much about how I dislike the way this book talks about men, but it genuinely felt like it was trying to be progressive and ultimately fell flat. By a lot. For example: Sera could have been ashamed for sleeping with Jed because she suspected him of murder, but instead she chooses to hate herself for sleeping with him...because he's a man? It just felt a bit out of place, since her main focus is technically the murder/disappearance investigation.
Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. The atmosphere was pretty tense, though, and I plowed through the last 40 or so pages to figure out what was happening. I also didn't mind the writing style, despite the fact that it could get repetitive. This book isn't irredeemably bad by any means, but the main character and the surprise twists at the end made it one of my least favorite reads this year. I hope that other people enjoy this book more than I did, because it wasn't really for me.
The last couple chapters of the book also leave a few threads dangling even now. I know Homer was supposed to be suspicious from the start, but then it turns out he did nothing at all. Red herrings are good, especially in true crime-based books, but this felt sort of cheap. The characters outside of Sera are pretty weird to begin with, but I felt like using the brother as a prop was just an okay plot point instead of a stronger one.
I won't go on too much about how I dislike the way this book talks about men, but it genuinely felt like it was trying to be progressive and ultimately fell flat. By a lot. For example: Sera could have been ashamed for sleeping with Jed because she suspected him of murder, but instead she chooses to hate herself for sleeping with him...because he's a man? It just felt a bit out of place, since her main focus is technically the murder/disappearance investigation.
Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. The atmosphere was pretty tense, though, and I plowed through the last 40 or so pages to figure out what was happening. I also didn't mind the writing style, despite the fact that it could get repetitive. This book isn't irredeemably bad by any means, but the main character and the surprise twists at the end made it one of my least favorite reads this year. I hope that other people enjoy this book more than I did, because it wasn't really for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Vomit, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Suicide, Blood
Minor: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Torture, Pregnancy