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A review by bookph1le
The Thinnest Air by Minka Kent
1.0
Okay, I'm not one-starring this book because I thought it was all bad. At a technical level, the author did a good job. There were enough twists and turns and she threw in enough red herrings that I couldn't figure out exactly who the culprit was until late in the book. I was impressed by this aspect of the book, even though once all is revealed, this is a pretty stock thriller, the kind most thriller readers like myself have probably read a hundred times already.
However, the fact that I couldn't unravel the mystery early is really about all I liked about the book, which is why I gave it one star. I didn't like it. I had a lot of personal issues with it, mostly about the characters. I'll keep this spoiler-free, but I can't promise I won't give anything away.
Basically, every character in this book is problematic. That in and of itself isn't a bad thing. I am not of the "characters MUST be likable" school of thought. In fact, I sometimes find likable characters very grating indeed, so that wasn't my problem here. My problem here was I couldn't find anyone I really wanted to root for. Meredith comes across as the bimbo she's frequently accused of being, Greer is off-puttingly abrasive, their mother is about as stock as they come, and the male characters exhibit varying shades of assholery--except for Wade, which is interesting, since he exists only to be the mother's boyfriend of the moment.
As for Andrew, Ronan, and Harris, every single one of them is a douchebag in some way. Andrew is a flat-out abusive husband. He's controlling, manipulative, and cruel, and everyone who tells Meredith she should leave him is right on the money (hahaha, no pun intended!) Ronan is also all kinds of problematic, unable to take no for an answer and exhibiting plenty of warning flags from the get go. And for all Harris is supposed to be an enlightened poster boy for feminism, he's about as condescending as they come. I couldn't stand the way he treated Meredith, even if she gave him reason for it. His out and out disdain for her was just unacceptable, especially since Greer is supposedly so close with her sister.
I kept reading because, like I said, I couldn't figure out who the culprit was until I was almost at the end of the book. Otherwise, I would have dumped this book. I have no desire to spend a single additional moment with any of these characters.
However, the fact that I couldn't unravel the mystery early is really about all I liked about the book, which is why I gave it one star. I didn't like it. I had a lot of personal issues with it, mostly about the characters. I'll keep this spoiler-free, but I can't promise I won't give anything away.
Basically, every character in this book is problematic. That in and of itself isn't a bad thing. I am not of the "characters MUST be likable" school of thought. In fact, I sometimes find likable characters very grating indeed, so that wasn't my problem here. My problem here was I couldn't find anyone I really wanted to root for. Meredith comes across as the bimbo she's frequently accused of being, Greer is off-puttingly abrasive, their mother is about as stock as they come, and the male characters exhibit varying shades of assholery--except for Wade, which is interesting, since he exists only to be the mother's boyfriend of the moment.
As for Andrew, Ronan, and Harris, every single one of them is a douchebag in some way. Andrew is a flat-out abusive husband. He's controlling, manipulative, and cruel, and everyone who tells Meredith she should leave him is right on the money (hahaha, no pun intended!) Ronan is also all kinds of problematic, unable to take no for an answer and exhibiting plenty of warning flags from the get go. And for all Harris is supposed to be an enlightened poster boy for feminism, he's about as condescending as they come. I couldn't stand the way he treated Meredith, even if she gave him reason for it. His out and out disdain for her was just unacceptable, especially since Greer is supposedly so close with her sister.
I kept reading because, like I said, I couldn't figure out who the culprit was until I was almost at the end of the book. Otherwise, I would have dumped this book. I have no desire to spend a single additional moment with any of these characters.