bornachoker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Spoiler
There's an addictive quality to Lucy Foley's thrillers, and this one was no exception. Somehow I hated the characters while simultaneously feeling sorry for them - especially Miranda. Although I started the book hoping she was the one who died, I ended it wishing that she had had the chance to build a new life for herself. I also appreciated how neatly the various storylines tied together, it made for a really satisfying resolution.Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Classism, Cursing, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Vomit, Violence, and War
Moderate: Eating disorder, Body shaming, and Drug use
Minor: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Drug abuse
kaylamoran's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Stalking, Death, Murder, Alcohol, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cursing, Addiction, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Outing, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Bullying, and Homophobia
orndal's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness, War, Violence, Vomit, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Ableism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Sexism, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Infertility
Minor: Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Body shaming, Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
katieav's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Spoiler
drug revelation as I thought that was kind of anti climatic and that we didn’t know who “the boss” was-I half expected it to be someone they all knew!Graphic: Violence, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Death, Murder, Animal death, and Gore
Moderate: Body shaming, War, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Eating disorder
mecmccann'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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Eating disorder, Alcohol, Infertility, War, Gun violence, Mental illness, Drug use, and Infidelity
fraise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Infertility, Infidelity, Stalking, Alcohol, Animal death, Murder, Blood, and Drug use
Moderate: Addiction, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy
lina_petrina'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
4.5
Moderate: Self harm and Eating disorder
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
🌟🌟🌟✨
🦌 The plot: A group of friends who met at Oxford University many years ago goes to a remote Scottish loch to celebrate New Year. On the surface, it's all fun and games, but in less than 24 hours, one of them will be dead, and as the authorities struggle to get there through the snow, one thing becomes certain: the murderer is still among them.
I don't read a lot of thrillers, but this was lent to me by a friend and proved to be an accidentally festive read as I read it over New Year!
The story is narrated from multiple perspectives across five characters: three of the friends who visit the loch, and two of the people who work there. (Interestingly, they're all told in first-person apart from the one male narrator - there's probably an essay on female subjectivity in there somewhere)
You don't find out who the murderer or their victim are until right at the end, and while in another book this might have annoyed me, here I thought it worked to keep me suspicious of everybody, especially in conjunction with Foley's characterisation.
While some books I've read make rich characters into caricatures, usually with some version of "I'm better than you, peasant" popping up in the dialogue to show that Yes, They're Bad, I thought this one did a good job of showing the different shades of ugliness and entitlement that are possible in characters like these. This heightened the drama because really, any of these people might have been capable of hurting each other - not because they were supervillains, but because they were spoilt or vain or desperate or all three.
I didn't see the murderer's identity coming until the last moment and they turned out to be such an interesting villain, too - I was really impressed! My only gripe is that after a really carefully-paced and -written main arc, the story wrapped up in a rush. It didn't seem that the emotional fallout from the murder was actually that big - [REDACTED]'s murder actually seemed quite convenient for a lot of the group - and I'd have liked there to be more reflection on what was actually lost in the course of the novel.
🦌 Read it if you're not usually that into thrillers (me neither - but I liked this!) And want something atmospheric with a critique of privilege and some really strong group dynamics between characters!
🚫 Avoid it if you prefer darker or more elaborate crime stories as this isn't that twisty. Also, it goes without saying, check TWs before reading
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Murder
Moderate: War, Drug use, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
kellflo'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? Yes
Graphic: Stalking
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Eating disorder
maregred's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Death, Infidelity, Animal death, Drug use, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: War, Blood, Gun violence, Outing, Infertility, Murder, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Gaslighting, Bullying, Outing, Vomit, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Eating disorder