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stephbakerbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Things I liked:
- diverse cast of characters, connected together by living in the same neighborhood
- New Zealand setting
- short chapters
- questioning everything and everyone
- the twists at the end
- Pari
Things I didn't like:
- all the characters except for Pari
- takes a while to remember who is who, because there are so many characters (even by the end, a name would be mentioned and I would think, "Wait who was that again?")
- the pacing felt off to me in places (there would be a tension-filled moment and then the next chapter would act like that moment hadn't just happened)
- the ending felt rushed; nothing was happening and then a lot happened in the span of a few pages and then it was done
Overall, a decent mystery that kept me guessing, but the unlikable characters and lack of any real character development kept me from rating this higher.
- diverse cast of characters, connected together by living in the same neighborhood
- New Zealand setting
- short chapters
- questioning everything and everyone
- the twists at the end
- Pari
Things I didn't like:
- all the characters except for Pari
- takes a while to remember who is who, because there are so many characters (even by the end, a name would be mentioned and I would think, "Wait who was that again?")
- the pacing felt off to me in places (there would be a tension-filled moment and then the next chapter would act like that moment hadn't just happened)
- the ending felt rushed; nothing was happening and then a lot happened in the span of a few pages and then it was done
Overall, a decent mystery that kept me guessing, but the unlikable characters and lack of any real character development kept me from rating this higher.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicide, Medical content, and Murder
sarahasyouwish's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Singh’s writing, characters and atmosphere continue to impress me, but this book features a very upper-class suburban setting with expectedly entitled characters and an unreliable narrator, none of which are my favorites. Nonetheless, the suspense was well executed and the storyline kept me interested.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
girlonbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
🍬🍬🍬🍬 (four stars as rated in Aarav’s exceptionally addictive stash of sweets)
It’s been ten years since Nina Rai disappeared with a quarter of a million dollars. Generally assumed to have fled her former life willingly, Nina and her disappearance have all but faded from the rumor mill of the close-knit cul-de-sac where she once lived. But when Nina’s remains are discovered only a short distance from her home, everything changes. With only a handful of neighbors that could have been responsible for her death, Nina’s murder uproots secrets about more than just her and the Rai family. Her son, Aarav, is determined to discover who murdered his mother, but having recently suffered brain damage from a nearly fatal car accident, his account of his mother’s last night alive is far from reliable. Still, he is willing to face every one of his demons to get to the truth. Even the ones his family would prefer never saw the light of day…
Ten years was a long time… For everyone to forget that Nina Parvati Rai had been a living, breathing woman who’d loved music and cooking and had a mind like a computer.
In another life she could have been a professor.
In this life she’d been a rich man’s wife.
Now she was just bones.
This book spoke to me the minute I saw that deliciously sinister looking cover. I’m adding Quiet In Her Bones to my list of rainy day recommendations because this is exactly the type of book with which one really ought to cozy up on the couch with a cuppa. I loved that the neighborhood in which the Rai family lives is so thoroughly multi-cultural and diverse; and not in a way that feels forced or “for show.” Nalini Singh really raises the bar when it comes to writing about a variety of races, sexual orientations and life experiences without leaning on tropes or stereotypes. I’ll be adding some of her other work to my TBR right away. Also, considering that she (according to her website) especially loves writing romance, I am blown away at how well she pulled of the mystery of this story. I really did not put the pieces together until just at the end. And the unreliable narrator bits were fun for me to try and sort through.
✨ Rep in this book: Indian protagonist, diverse community of side characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual violence, and Violence
Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia
cursedepub's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Quiet in Her Bones is an enjoyable and suspenseful read, but ultimately isn't very fulfilling. The prose is great - tense and action-packed, while providing a lot of emotional appeal and insight into main character Aarav's personal psyche, and the book is populated with the perfect cast of dramatic, trashy, filthy rich people that make for the most fun mysteries and thrillers. It starts off strong and the pace picks up very nicely, but towards the end I was beginning to grow impatient with the almost never-ending addition of new possibilities to explore and how nothing we had previously discovered seemed to be coming together. The final reveal of the culprit and of the circumstances of Nina Rai's disappearance and death was very unsatisfying for me, and the way it was all hinged on a completely different disappearance and death came off as cheap and sloppy. I think more should have been done to establish the connection earlier in the novel, rather than spending time on points and hints that would eventually fade away or not end up particularly important.
One thing that definitely detracted from my enjoyment of the novel is how egregious the sexually objectifying male gaze was in the narration. I think genuinely every woman above the age of 18 in the novel was described in terms of her sexuality and/or physical attributes, to a degree I found gross and uncomfortable.
One thing that definitely detracted from my enjoyment of the novel is how egregious the sexually objectifying male gaze was in the narration. I think genuinely every woman above the age of 18 in the novel was described in terms of her sexuality and/or physical attributes, to a degree I found gross and uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use
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