ladyinverse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Gun violence, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Child abuse
kt2e56'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? No
3.0
The ending also felt a bit rushed but the plot itself does make up for that. It’s certainly entertaining.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Car accident, Confinement, Murder, Sexual assault, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Vomit, Cursing, Alcoholism, Excrement, Medical trauma, Drug use, Drug abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Stalking
jkarki's review against another edition
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Car accident, Blood, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Death, Confinement, Child death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Alcohol, Torture, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Animal cruelty, Self harm, and Vomit
icieri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Blood, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy
stephanieluxton'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? No
4.5
At times, this story feels like three books in one as each storyline slowly unfolds and we try to make predictions and decipher how they're connected. The characters are interesting and it's fun trying to predict their motivations.
The setting adds a lot of atmosphere to the story, especially in the present day/winter scenes. The cold, dark, white out conditions add so much claustrophobia. There were a few scenes in which I was genuinely terrified for our main characters.
My favorite thing about this book was seeing how the different characters reacted to the situations they found themselves in. It felt believable.
One of my least favourite things was the end reveal - the reveal itself was fine, but I think it would have been more impactful if the motivations of the antagonist were a little more defined.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys slow burn crime/thrillers and dark "whodunnits".
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Car accident, Sexism, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death, Pregnancy, Rape, Stalking, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Fire/Fire injury
christyjoreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Spoiler
Ugh. Some random chick recommended this book and my book group said "sure, why the heck not?" And it sucked.1. They escape the basement and run right back in.
2. He bolts the door, but wait 'there's a window'....hello? a window the whole time they could escape from?
3. She gets a gun and won't shoot her captor but shoots around him like a dumb-ass.
4. Drama but finally her own kid shoots her father in the head because 'he just won't die'
I hope these books get better for this year, because this one was underwhelming.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Torture, Rape, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Murder
babyjay's review against another edition
- 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
It should be. The characters are complex and realistic even in extraordinary situations. However, the snippets told from law enforcement perspective are just a little too hero worship-y for me. The stereotypical badass female from headquarters with an eagle eye and a soft touch for witnesses, the rogue cop with his own rules who will stop at nothing to chase a lead, the good hearted sherif that just really *knows* these people.
Not only is it boring but dangerous! Telling stories where cops who terrorize to get information are doing the “wrong thing for the right reasons” glamorizes the abusive system that kills and brutalizes just because they can. The author also leans heavily on the self destructive alcoholic war veteran who creeps everyone out. The man has severe PTSD that goes untreated along with a difficult and painful life. Writing him into a story in such an unforgiving way and continuing to abuse his character throughout the book is gross. Vets have enough trouble as it is, no need to perpetuate the stereotypes of them being violent, dangerous, and unstable.
The chapters in this book that include the aforementioned BS are short and infrequent, get swollowed up by the actual action of the story, and generally have very little to do with the plot. If you can ignore the filler it’s worth a read.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Torture, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Car accident, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Rape, Terminal illness, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, and Physical abuse
wonderfulxwonderful's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Vomit, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, and Physical abuse
Minor: Car accident, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Rape, and Alcohol
zoiejanelle'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? No
1.5
listen, if you like predictable thrillers with plot points that scream "cheap shock value," this is a fine book. actually, this was a good book! until what was supposed to be the big plot twist. kirkus reviews got it right this time: "Tense, taut, and terrifying—until the reveal. Read the first 43 chapters and be satisfied."
spoilers: the murderer is mentioned once in the beginning of the book, and the reveal leaves you asking, "wait, what the hell? who is this guy?"
instead of a well-done whodunnit, the author closed her eyes, spun around, and pointed at the first character she saw. the suspense immediately deflated, and there was no closure or compelling explanation to why the crime happened whatsoever. it was extremely amateur, and very disappointing.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Car accident, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault
whatathymeitwas'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? It's complicated
4.0
I'm my opinion, this is very will written. I don't run into that many books that make me feel like I'm a string being slowly wound up at an ever-increasing speed and intensity, but this one did. I literally felt my heart rate go up during certain scenes. For an author to actually physically affect me, I'm impressed.
I won't get into the plot or anything that might be a spoiler, but this story was just aces. I had no idea who the fingers were going to eventually end up pointed at, and most of my guesses ended up being wrong. It took me til the last quarter to even figure out all the other perspectives and how they tied together. Provided, I'm not always exceptionally good at figuring out the mystery, but this one especially had me mind boggled.
This would be a great pick for anyone who enjoys extremely suspenseful suspense novels, and it would probably work exceptionally well as a winter read— in the dark, when it's snowing and chilled outside.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Cancer