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lavins's review against another edition
5.0
This was a real delight to read. The story flows nicely and the suspense and mystery is steadily build.
The author does a great job in misdirecting the reader, although some things can be suspected, the exact way of execution are revealed in the end as a nice surprise.
I really enjoyed this book! The theme of a male rape victim, it is equally tragic and new as not a lot of authors have explored this avenue as of yet. The devastating impact that has on the victim and his family are very well described in the book, without losing countless time on internal chatter, the message is strong and the pain is real.
A beautiful story about family, love, choices, individual strength, personality and a good mystery.
Thank you Net Galley for this great book!
The author does a great job in misdirecting the reader, although some things can be suspected, the exact way of execution are revealed in the end as a nice surprise.
I really enjoyed this book! The theme of a male rape victim, it is equally tragic and new as not a lot of authors have explored this avenue as of yet. The devastating impact that has on the victim and his family are very well described in the book, without losing countless time on internal chatter, the message is strong and the pain is real.
A beautiful story about family, love, choices, individual strength, personality and a good mystery.
Thank you Net Galley for this great book!
lavins's review against another edition
5.0
This was a real delight to read. The story flows nicely and the suspense and mystery is steadily build.
The author does a great job in misdirecting the reader, although some things can be suspected, the exact way of execution are revealed in the end as a nice surprise.
I really enjoyed this book! The theme of a male rape victim, it is equally tragic and new as not a lot of authors have explored this avenue as of yet. The devastating impact that has on the victim and his family are very well described in the book, without losing countless time on internal chatter, the message is strong and the pain is real.
A beautiful story about family, love, choices, individual strength, personality and a good mystery.
Thank you Net Galley for this great book!
The author does a great job in misdirecting the reader, although some things can be suspected, the exact way of execution are revealed in the end as a nice surprise.
I really enjoyed this book! The theme of a male rape victim, it is equally tragic and new as not a lot of authors have explored this avenue as of yet. The devastating impact that has on the victim and his family are very well described in the book, without losing countless time on internal chatter, the message is strong and the pain is real.
A beautiful story about family, love, choices, individual strength, personality and a good mystery.
Thank you Net Galley for this great book!
choudek's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
erinbronz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
paradise_library's review against another edition
2.0
I’m a big fan of crime thrillers and the first chapter of this book sucked me in and I was suitably excited for the ride.
Unfortunately the rest of the book didn’t deliver; it dragged on, wasn’t engaging and the ending was underwhelming. Had the book had been classified as a different genre, I think I would have enjoyed it more; it didn’t feel like a thriller. Given the author’s background, I was hoping for more detail on the legal aspects, but as there never was a trial, it fell flat. There was also little to no action throughout and the ‘twists’ were expected and not in anyway surprising. It was more about family, the ripple effect of the incident and morality.
But this is where Wahrer finds her strength. There are some beautiful moments between characters, which makes them relatable, and the back story we do see provides context on each character’s journey. However, I would have liked to have seen more written about the effects of Nick’s rape on each character, including Ray’s family and Julia’s children.
As for Detective Rice, his presence was almost unnecessary and it wasn’t clear why he was so taken with Julia and her ‘goodness’. This idea of a moral dilemma didn’t bother me as it has others; I think many of us would do whatever it takes to protect our family. The constant reference to Elisa and Mathis did give away this ‘twist’ as it was obvious Julia was planning something (and had already set up an alibi for Tony). It was also sad that Julia actually believed her husband capable of murder – he had worked so hard to change who he was expected to be, so the idea that he would risk losing everything didn’t sit right.
This debut had potential, but was too long and the overall aim of the story felt confused and weak.
I was provided with a copy of this book by Grazia for their Book Club. All opinions my own.
Unfortunately the rest of the book didn’t deliver; it dragged on, wasn’t engaging and the ending was underwhelming. Had the book had been classified as a different genre, I think I would have enjoyed it more; it didn’t feel like a thriller. Given the author’s background, I was hoping for more detail on the legal aspects, but as there never was a trial, it fell flat. There was also little to no action throughout and the ‘twists’ were expected and not in anyway surprising. It was more about family, the ripple effect of the incident and morality.
But this is where Wahrer finds her strength. There are some beautiful moments between characters, which makes them relatable, and the back story we do see provides context on each character’s journey. However, I would have liked to have seen more written about the effects of Nick’s rape on each character, including Ray’s family and Julia’s children.
As for Detective Rice, his presence was almost unnecessary and it wasn’t clear why he was so taken with Julia and her ‘goodness’. This idea of a moral dilemma didn’t bother me as it has others; I think many of us would do whatever it takes to protect our family. The constant reference to Elisa and Mathis did give away this ‘twist’ as it was obvious Julia was planning something (and had already set up an alibi for Tony). It was also sad that Julia actually believed her husband capable of murder – he had worked so hard to change who he was expected to be, so the idea that he would risk losing everything didn’t sit right.
This debut had potential, but was too long and the overall aim of the story felt confused and weak.
I was provided with a copy of this book by Grazia for their Book Club. All opinions my own.
mongert's review against another edition
3.0
Although I didn’t think the entirety of the plot of this novel was always believable, it was a great listen. Wahrer created complex characters in this thriller, and I enjoyed the twists and the writing. I hope Wahrer writes more books soon!
lilysnape's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5. My goodness, this was a great punch to the gut. The summary on the jacket doesn't do the narrative setup nearly enough justice. Although the husband was the weakest character, I still understood his motives as well as everyone else's. An extremely satisfying read.
caitrod_tx's review against another edition
2.0
⭐️⭐️/5
Ok, hear me out. I really wanted to like this one more than I did, and there were some semi-surprising parts that I did like. The plot is something that we don’t hear about a lot (sexual assault of a male), and I think that’s something we need to talk about more, because it does happen more than we realize. Also, the author is named Caitlin (spelled the same way as me, which I don’t see a lot), so she’s probably cool
Ok, hear me out. I really wanted to like this one more than I did, and there were some semi-surprising parts that I did like. The plot is something that we don’t hear about a lot (sexual assault of a male), and I think that’s something we need to talk about more, because it does happen more than we realize. Also, the author is named Caitlin (spelled the same way as me, which I don’t see a lot), so she’s probably cool
brookann77's review against another edition
5.0
I was praying for that ending and I’m SO glad I got it.