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karmaj's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Took a bit of time to get into the story and characters but once the layers started to peel back I couldn’t stop til I got to the end.
The storytelling throughout was well done and the twists and turns along the plot kept me guessing, though I felt a bit of the authors scramble to wrap up some plot points that she raised along the way.
Overall a solid thriller that was worth the read.
I could have done without the last chapter altogether and felt *that* specific detail wasn’t needed in the scheme of everything else
The storytelling throughout was well done and the twists and turns along the plot kept me guessing, though I felt a bit of the authors scramble to wrap up some plot points that she raised along the way.
Overall a solid thriller that was worth the read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Child abuse, Infidelity, and Mental illness
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I thought this was a good read. I predicted a bit of the plot, but not the whole thing, and I was interested in how everything was going to unfold. But boy howdy, men ruin everything. I'll be paying attention to more books from Ms. Lapena.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, and Alcohol
kit_kat006's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book is ok. Not great not terrible. I felt it was really slow for such a small book. I wanted to push trough as I absolutely love another book from this author. At the 70% mark, I was could not stop and the end was worth it. I guessed some part of what would happens as it was predictable to me. What is good? Yes and no. Would I recommend? I don't know... But for the last chapter, yes!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Infidelity, and Vomit
xojackiedaniels's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- 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
1.5
**no spoilers**
As a former true crime enthusiast, I was intrigued by the premise of this thriller. It reminded me of this unsolved case of a toddler abduction I heard about a while ago. I was kind of excited to figure this one out and get some closure (I hate cold cases lol).
The setup was meh, with very low stakes set at the beginning. Main characters aren't much different by the end of the book, which is deeply disappointing:
• the mother has no backbone and is either sobbing or in a trance-like state throughout the whole story.
• the father is so unintelligent and immature, it made me cringe outwardly.
Both make the stupidest decisions a character in a thriller could make.
As for the secondary characters,
• one is described as a tramp with no personality beyond having a sexy body and liking money. Her and the mother used to be genuine friends according to the author, yet it seems like there wasn't a single reason why they'd get along.
• the motives of the perpetrator are implied but we don't get to hear from them or see what led up to their decision of kidnapping the baby. It really felt like the author introduced way too many characters that all had better motives for the kidnapping than the actual criminal.
• there is also a character with Dissociative Identity Disorder that I thought would be a good representation of DID at first... boy, was I mistaken!
• questionable representation of how mental illness affects violence towards others in general... I am so over thriller authors using disorders as plot devices!!! >:(
The plot itself was scarce, diluted with constant unrelated tangents and head-hopping just to describe the same scene all over again.
And what on EARTH was that atrocious ending? I would say the book was perfectly wrapped up and salvaged BEFORE the last couple of pages happened.
⭐1.5 for the intrigue and the genuine potential that was not done any justice.
TWs: child abduction, ableism, intrusive thoughts typical to postpartum depression, semigraphic violence descriptions, a character being gaslit while in a vulnerable mental state, themes of infidelity.
As a former true crime enthusiast, I was intrigued by the premise of this thriller. It reminded me of this unsolved case of a toddler abduction I heard about a while ago. I was kind of excited to figure this one out and get some closure (I hate cold cases lol).
The setup was meh, with very low stakes set at the beginning. Main characters aren't much different by the end of the book, which is deeply disappointing:
• the mother has no backbone and is either sobbing or in a trance-like state throughout the whole story.
• the father is so unintelligent and immature, it made me cringe outwardly.
Both make the stupidest decisions a character in a thriller could make.
As for the secondary characters,
• one is described as a tramp with no personality beyond having a sexy body and liking money. Her and the mother used to be genuine friends according to the author, yet it seems like there wasn't a single reason why they'd get along.
• the motives of the perpetrator are implied but we don't get to hear from them or see what led up to their decision of kidnapping the baby. It really felt like the author introduced way too many characters that all had better motives for the kidnapping than the actual criminal.
• there is also a character with Dissociative Identity Disorder that I thought would be a good representation of DID at first... boy, was I mistaken!
• questionable representation of how mental illness affects violence towards others in general... I am so over thriller authors using disorders as plot devices!!! >:(
The plot itself was scarce, diluted with constant unrelated tangents and head-hopping just to describe the same scene all over again.
And what on EARTH was that atrocious ending? I would say the book was perfectly wrapped up and salvaged BEFORE the last couple of pages happened.
⭐1.5 for the intrigue and the genuine potential that was not done any justice.
TWs: child abduction, ableism, intrusive thoughts typical to postpartum depression, semigraphic violence descriptions, a character being gaslit while in a vulnerable mental state, themes of infidelity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, and Dysphoria
Minor: Death of parent
themoodreader's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-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
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
anawilson05's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It's a really quick read but nothing mind-blowing. Decent story structure and a few interesting albeit slightly predictable twists
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Kidnapping
bookishchaos's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Great idea but I knew exactly who "did it" in the first few chapters, it wasn't hard to figure out. There was still some twists and turns throughout the rest of the book but nothing spectacular.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Blood and Vomit
hannah_steven's review against another edition
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Murder
sefrahudman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This one was so good! Caution if you have a baby it might give you anxiety, but wow it was so so so good! I did not see the big plot twists coming and the end had me like 🫨 I was shook. The foreshadowing was so good and the only reason it wasn’t a 5star is just the swearing. But like honestly it was like 4.5 stars!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
mrsmishler's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Infidelity and Murder
Minor: Violence