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stephanieluxton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
At times, this story feels like three books in one as each storyline slowly unfolds and we try to make predictions and decipher how they're connected. The characters are interesting and it's fun trying to predict their motivations.
The setting adds a lot of atmosphere to the story, especially in the present day/winter scenes. The cold, dark, white out conditions add so much claustrophobia. There were a few scenes in which I was genuinely terrified for our main characters.
My favorite thing about this book was seeing how the different characters reacted to the situations they found themselves in. It felt believable.
One of my least favourite things was the end reveal - the reveal itself was fine, but I think it would have been more impactful if the motivations of the antagonist were a little more defined.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys slow burn crime/thrillers and dark "whodunnits".
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Pedophilia, Vomit, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury
christyjoreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
1. They escape the basement and run right back in.
2. He bolts the door, but wait 'there's a window'....hello? a window the whole time they could escape from?
3. She gets a gun and won't shoot her captor but shoots around him like a dumb-ass.
4. Drama but finally her own kid shoots her father in the head because 'he just won't die'
I hope these books get better for this year, because this one was underwhelming.
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Torture, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
babyjay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It should be. The characters are complex and realistic even in extraordinary situations. However, the snippets told from law enforcement perspective are just a little too hero worship-y for me. The stereotypical badass female from headquarters with an eagle eye and a soft touch for witnesses, the rogue cop with his own rules who will stop at nothing to chase a lead, the good hearted sherif that just really *knows* these people.
Not only is it boring but dangerous! Telling stories where cops who terrorize to get information are doing the “wrong thing for the right reasons” glamorizes the abusive system that kills and brutalizes just because they can. The author also leans heavily on the self destructive alcoholic war veteran who creeps everyone out. The man has severe PTSD that goes untreated along with a difficult and painful life. Writing him into a story in such an unforgiving way and continuing to abuse his character throughout the book is gross. Vets have enough trouble as it is, no need to perpetuate the stereotypes of them being violent, dangerous, and unstable.
The chapters in this book that include the aforementioned BS are short and infrequent, get swollowed up by the actual action of the story, and generally have very little to do with the plot. If you can ignore the filler it’s worth a read.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Terminal illness, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
wonderfulxwonderful's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Car accident, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
zoiejanelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
listen, if you like predictable thrillers with plot points that scream "cheap shock value," this is a fine book. actually, this was a good book! until what was supposed to be the big plot twist. kirkus reviews got it right this time: "Tense, taut, and terrifying—until the reveal. Read the first 43 chapters and be satisfied."
spoilers: the murderer is mentioned once in the beginning of the book, and the reveal leaves you asking, "wait, what the hell? who is this guy?"
instead of a well-done whodunnit, the author closed her eyes, spun around, and pointed at the first character she saw. the suspense immediately deflated, and there was no closure or compelling explanation to why the crime happened whatsoever. it was extremely amateur, and very disappointing.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
whatathymeitwas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I'm my opinion, this is very will written. I don't run into that many books that make me feel like I'm a string being slowly wound up at an ever-increasing speed and intensity, but this one did. I literally felt my heart rate go up during certain scenes. For an author to actually physically affect me, I'm impressed.
I won't get into the plot or anything that might be a spoiler, but this story was just aces. I had no idea who the fingers were going to eventually end up pointed at, and most of my guesses ended up being wrong. It took me til the last quarter to even figure out all the other perspectives and how they tied together. Provided, I'm not always exceptionally good at figuring out the mystery, but this one especially had me mind boggled.
This would be a great pick for anyone who enjoys extremely suspenseful suspense novels, and it would probably work exceptionally well as a winter read— in the dark, when it's snowing and chilled outside.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
dogearedbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Stalking
Minor: Alcohol
brookey8888's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail