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omair's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Hunted delivers in bunches what it promises, but does it do so at the cost of having the depth to be truly memorable?
Hunted is an easy read, with short chapters that change scenes at a frantic pace. Mixed with the extremely generic world - more on this in a moment - everything feels foggy or blurry. If this is by design, as I'm choosing to believe to credit author Darcy Coates, then it meets the mood at every turn of the page. If you don't believe this to be intentional, well, then the cracks in the story will likely prove to be too great.
From the first paragraphs, Hunted really imparts a vision of a horror B-movie, something made to be straight to streaming. The character and story tropes are laid on thickand you realize there's a twist coming that you're not given enough clues to solve with certainty... well, unless you know the tropes already
One of our main POVsis a group of post-teenagers that truly had me thinking of a knock-off Scooby-Doo quartet, just Shaggy replaced with a stereotypical jock. It doesn't help that they literally get in a van that clinched the Mystery Machine feel to me.
And with that, the mystery is afoot... except that it's not really a mystery at all. Pay just a bit of attention, and you quicklybegin to expect a masked villain at play. Coates keeps the shrouded sense of it all pretty well though, and the story is never so dull that you're tempted to put it down and walk away.
But what it does lack is anything to really draw you in, to get lost amidst the details or to feel transported into its world. Nothing feels particularly vibrant or lived in. Frankly, I found myself questioning when and where the story takes place. It may as well be set in an alternate USA where they did adopt the metric system and Zuckerberg's rise stalled well into the 2010's.
In the end, I did not hate reading it, nor did I particularly enjoy it, but - most telling for me - I'm not even sure I'll remember having done so a month from now. As such, it's hard for me to recommend this to others, but maybe it'll be a guilty pleasure read for you. I finished it over the course of two nights, so could be worth for anyone wanting to sneak in a title while waiting for a hold on something else.
Hunted is an easy read, with short chapters that change scenes at a frantic pace. Mixed with the extremely generic world - more on this in a moment - everything feels foggy or blurry. If this is by design, as I'm choosing to believe to credit author Darcy Coates, then it meets the mood at every turn of the page. If you don't believe this to be intentional, well, then the cracks in the story will likely prove to be too great.
From the first paragraphs, Hunted really imparts a vision of a horror B-movie, something made to be straight to streaming. The character and story tropes are laid on thick
One of our main POVs
And with that, the mystery is afoot... except that it's not really a mystery at all. Pay just a bit of attention, and you quickly
But what it does lack is anything to really draw you in, to get lost amidst the details or to feel transported into its world. Nothing feels particularly vibrant or lived in. Frankly, I found myself questioning when and where the story takes place. It may as well be set in an alternate USA where they did adopt the metric system and Zuckerberg's rise stalled well into the 2010's.
In the end, I did not hate reading it, nor did I particularly enjoy it, but - most telling for me - I'm not even sure I'll remember having done so a month from now. As such, it's hard for me to recommend this to others, but maybe it'll be a guilty pleasure read for you. I finished it over the course of two nights, so could be worth for anyone wanting to sneak in a title while waiting for a hold on something else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, and Classism
honorfodder's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
An easy read horror/thriller with a bit of crime drama. The story follows along with 2-3 groups as they uncover the mystery of Eileen’s disappearance. The beginning was a tad slow, but the suspense ramped up further into the book.
Pros:
-easy read
-suspenseful scenarios
-great build up of clues to the finale
Cons:
-short chapters jumping from each protagonist make things disorienting when things ramp up
-characters are shallow and frustrating in the beginning half of the story
Overall a great read. Would recommend to those starting thriller/horror genre
Pros:
-easy read
-suspenseful scenarios
-great build up of clues to the finale
Cons:
-short chapters jumping from each protagonist make things disorienting when things ramp up
-characters are shallow and frustrating in the beginning half of the story
Overall a great read. Would recommend to those starting thriller/horror genre
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Blood, and Murder
katkinslee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
It was definitely very tense. It was a bit more of a crime thriller than a horror books which is an interesting change of pace for Coates. I enjoyed the twist even though I saw it coming towards the end.
I didn't really like any of the characters although I was sad to see Anna die because she was the probably the least annoying
Todd was the biggest idiot and it was amusing to hear his chapters.
All in all it was a decent read and very atmospheric but definitely not my favourite Coates book.
I didn't really like any of the characters although
Todd was the biggest idiot and it was amusing to hear his chapters.
All in all it was a decent read and very atmospheric but definitely not my favourite Coates book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
witchy_reads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy
ahbmacgregor's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Pretty enjoyable overall! While it isn't a book that's going to win any prizes, this is still a pretty engaging read with just enough tension and mystery to keep it going. I went into it expecting something schlocky and was pleasantly surprised, and that's probably the way to do it.
Aside from Todd (ugh), none of the character perspectives were flawed in an annoying/frustrating way, and at least Todd feels less present when more perspectives are introduced.Honestly I was more than happy to see the end of him, even if the decomposition was particularly graphic. He drove me nuts, especially in the blase way he treated wilderness survival, and that's not even mentioning the stalkerish obsession.
The twist was guessable, but not in a way that felt obvious and more like a reward for paying attention. In some ways it felt like the final confrontations were with the wrong people/not enough people, but that wasn't enough to ruin the book. It's worth picking this up if you don't mind some horror tropes and semi-expected beats.
Aside from Todd (ugh), none of the character perspectives were flawed in an annoying/frustrating way, and at least Todd feels less present when more perspectives are introduced.
The twist was guessable, but not in a way that felt obvious and more like a reward for paying attention. In some ways it felt like the final confrontations were with the wrong people/not enough people, but that wasn't enough to ruin the book. It's worth picking this up if you don't mind some horror tropes and semi-expected beats.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Miscarriage, Grief, and Stalking
Minor: Vomit
silver_reads623's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is so fucking good! I didn't think that I would like it because of the male characters in this book but in the end that didn't even matter to me. The one thing that kind of distracted me a little bit was the Termanology for somethings like torch instead of flashlight meters instead of miles I thought that we were talking about a setting that was in the United States considering us how the narrator sounds American could've very well have been Canadian it was never specified but man I was guessing until the very end I loved it
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror and Blood
blondebookishbabe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
beckyremillard's review against another edition
dark
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? No
3.5
Eileen has gone missing while hiking by herself and the police don’t have any leads. Her brother and friends set out on their own to find her - whether she is alive or dead.
This book varied with how much it held my attention. I got kind of bored in the middle but the ending was captivating.
This book varied with how much it held my attention. I got kind of bored in the middle but the ending was captivating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Details about decaying bodiesrachelunabridged's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- 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? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Mental illness