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abbyreads1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
november22's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was so much fun. Reading it felt like I was sitting in a room, with Marlowe, and she was telling about everything that happened. The dual time-line combined with a dual-mystery was a nice touch. I adored the chapters from the Ralston's perspectives. (I wish there was a way to get more chapters or info about them. There are some things that I'd love to see from another Ralston's perspective. Or one of the people working for them.) Those chapters were so intriguing and well-written. The chapters set in the present were good too. There is a distinctive switch between the writing styles of the timelines so it was easy to distinguish between them. I will say that the present chapters felt and read more as a summer re-cap story for a good chunk of the book. It made me almost forget that there was a mystery attached to it. The mysteries made me put on my imaginary detective hat. I love when books make me want to solve a mystery alongside the characters. This book made me do it twice (present and past)! It kept me on the edge of my seat. I really didn't want to put the book down. When I hit page 360 I couldn't believe that there were only handful of pages left. I enjoyed this book so much. I think it'd be a good introduction to mysteries/thrillers for people who aren't sure if they're into those genres. Some dark things are discussed in the book (examples: eugenics, murder, loss/dead of a child, racism, suicide ) but it does have an overall lighthearded vibe to it. There is a good mix between sad, funny, feel-good, detective scened. It's easy to read because of the mixed pacing - some chapters have a medium pace and others a fast pace - and the characters are great. I could see myself in some of them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism and Suicide
babyleo's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Vomit, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
her_littleclouds's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This book is like a love letter to the people who disliked truly devious! This book took all the criticisms I had for that series and fixed them, which is fucking great!
1. The characters were interesting and didn’t get ridiculous amounts of uneventful scenes that didn’t further the plot.
2. The plot was the main focus of the story ALONG WITH THE CHARACTERS!!
3. The plot and the murder mystery was overall really interesting!
4. Even though in both the past and the present there were a lot of characters they felt distinct enough where I could differentiate them(I really struggled with this in the past portion of the truly devious books!)
5. The book is really atmospheric and I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of the morning house!
I really don’t have a lot of qualms with this book although I do wish that the divide from the past in comparison to the present could have been a little more distinct in way of writing(or I guess for me in way of narration because I read the audiobook).
Overall I think this is just a really solid book thats worth reading if you like murder mysteries! (PS: don’t go into this expecting like an actual thriller cause thats not it! I was not for a single moment in suspense or fear)
1. The characters were interesting and didn’t get ridiculous amounts of uneventful scenes that didn’t further the plot.
2. The plot was the main focus of the story ALONG WITH THE CHARACTERS!!
3. The plot and the murder mystery was overall really interesting!
4. Even though in both the past and the present there were a lot of characters they felt distinct enough where I could differentiate them(I really struggled with this in the past portion of the truly devious books!)
5. The book is really atmospheric and I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of the morning house!
I really don’t have a lot of qualms with this book although I do wish that the divide from the past in comparison to the present could have been a little more distinct in way of writing(or I guess for me in way of narration because I read the audiobook).
Overall I think this is just a really solid book thats worth reading if you like murder mysteries! (PS: don’t go into this expecting like an actual thriller cause thats not it! I was not for a single moment in suspense or fear)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Pregnancy
stardustandrockets's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Grief