Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson

10 reviews

dblue236's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

This was definitely not my favorite of this author's books, but it was a solid thriller with some twists I didn't see coming. The reveal regarding one particular character SHOULD have been obvious, but I managed to gloss right over it somehow until shortly before it was unveiled. Overall this was a great story and I enjoyed it, but it definitely isn't the best indicator of how talented Peter Swanson really is. 

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marytreybig's review against another edition

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dark

3.0

I struggle to give this a rating because it truly was well written. The character development and details were all there. 
It moved a little slow for me between the “thrilling” parts.  I considered DNF’ing because I have a toddler so I don’t have a ton of time to read right now. 

My biggest problem was: I guessed the twist! Pretty early on, I thought I had guessed it but then forced myself to keep going thinking that surely the author was trying to trick us and there would be a different mind blowing twist. Nope, I guessed it and I wasn’t shocked at all and found myself wishing I had just stopped at the 30% mark and googled the ending. 

Another problem: Seeing inside the mind of one of the characters just disturbed me. I know it was supposed to be that way, but I didn’t like those parts at all. 

Thats just me personally. I am in the camp where I wouldn’t recommend this book but I’m also not telling others to forget about it. 

I usually love Peter Swanson so I think this was just an off book for me. 

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aichaa's review against another edition

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dark tense
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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alyssamac's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No

3.5


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bethasaurus13's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • 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

1.0

I really wanted to like this but I really did not. I’m a big fan of thrillers and I enjoyed the kind worth killing. however, I have never read a book that made me feel so sick. This book was  disturbing. 
the amount of misogyny, sexual violence was gross. The author stigmatizes DID and bipolar disorder.  The amount of sexual violence was beyond what was necessary and was described in great detail. The internal monologue of the killer was revolting. 

I listened to the audiobook which likely made that character’s internal thoughts about women even more disturbing. The way the killer talks about women was horrific. As a woman, the language was vile. It also made me uneasy that the person writing this was a man.  

The plot was not terrible but I felt sick from the sexual violence and the killer’s internal dialogue.

Also while the book is set in a fictional town, the author gives clues as to where it would be. He  says the town is on the south shore in Massachusetts, but the author’s descriptions of the town and the geography do not make sense. For example they go home from Logan airport but the author says they head towards Lexington to get home … on the south shore. The authors grasp on the geography of the region is sloppy, like most of the book. 

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kiki9988's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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boothdwellerbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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ashleyalyse's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'd like to think I'm fairly observant to common tropes, especially in thriller or horror novels, but the ending of this truly caught me off-guard with an audible gasp. I can't say I've ever done that. It truly kept me listening from start to finish, needing to know what would come next. 

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adi_rocks_socks's review against another edition

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tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

That twist!!

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victoria_2002's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.25


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