Scan barcode
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting mystery and premise, but something just felt off to me. I didn't feel pulled in or really any interest in the mystery. There were just too many question early on that didn't make sense. The atmosphere was great, this small town on a small island, felt very secluded and frightening but everything else just felt off. I wish I'd liked this one more.
tobyyy's review against another edition
4.0
Big thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Wow, holy unreliable narrators, Batman! The first 40% of this book was a little slow but very atmospheric — honestly a perfect book for this time of year specifically! However, the pace picked up a little at 40% and from about 75% to the end, it went at a breakneck pace. (Not going to lie — I read the final 50% of this book in one sitting! I couldn’t set it down!)
The setting was excellent — a small island in an unnamed Scandinavian country — and the characters were intriguing. As mentioned above, the narrator is very unreliable and as a result, I spent 99% of the book questioning what was happening, what was reality and what was not, and who — of the cast of characters — was someone I could trust.
**Spoiler alert**
I’m not sure how I feel about the use of mental illness as a plot point. As a mental health professional, I get uncomfortable when trauma is used as a major plot driver and I also dislike the overuse of Dissociative Identity Disorder and similar disorders — that most of the public/lay people view as “mysterious” or “fascinating” (as compared to the boring and common depression, anxiety, etc). However for the most part, it worked in this book. It did ding my overall rating down a star, however.
Overall — an excellent tale. A good spooky read, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Gillian Flynn, and Ruth Ware.
Wow, holy unreliable narrators, Batman! The first 40% of this book was a little slow but very atmospheric — honestly a perfect book for this time of year specifically! However, the pace picked up a little at 40% and from about 75% to the end, it went at a breakneck pace. (Not going to lie — I read the final 50% of this book in one sitting! I couldn’t set it down!)
The setting was excellent — a small island in an unnamed Scandinavian country — and the characters were intriguing. As mentioned above, the narrator is very unreliable and as a result, I spent 99% of the book questioning what was happening, what was reality and what was not, and who — of the cast of characters — was someone I could trust.
**Spoiler alert**
I’m not sure how I feel about the use of mental illness as a plot point. As a mental health professional, I get uncomfortable when trauma is used as a major plot driver and I also dislike the overuse of Dissociative Identity Disorder and similar disorders — that most of the public/lay people view as “mysterious” or “fascinating” (as compared to the boring and common depression, anxiety, etc). However for the most part, it worked in this book. It did ding my overall rating down a star, however.
Overall — an excellent tale. A good spooky read, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Gillian Flynn, and Ruth Ware.
shelleyann01's review against another edition
1.0
I thought the premise of the book sounded interesting but something must have gotten lost in translation as it ended up being really boring. It is a noir thriller and I was taken in by the blurb, but I somehow found the execution lacking and I had to force myself to complete it and not pull a DNF. I found some parts of the book to be kinda crazy out there with the twists and turns, it made the book really confusing at times and very muddled...and then the end just fell so flat.
Disclousure:
Thank you NetGalley, Martin Krüger and Amazon Publishing UK for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.
#DontWakeMe #NetGalley
Disclousure:
Thank you NetGalley, Martin Krüger and Amazon Publishing UK for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.
#DontWakeMe #NetGalley
ellesbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
This book follows Jasmin who moves to a remote island with her five year old son, with the hope of uncovering the truth of a car accident she was in several months earlier. Jasmin is convinced that she killed a homeless man in the accident although her husband and the doctors insist it was an animal. As soon as Jasmin moved to the island it is clear all isn’t what it seems.
I enjoyed reading this book and liked the mysterious atmosphere and suspense that Krüger builds up from the beginning. I found that the detail really helped make the book darker and more thrilling. I really had no idea how the plot would unfold and it kept me guessing until the end.
I found Jasmin quite a conflicting character, I could definitely sympathise with her but also found her actions questionable. At times I did become confused with the plot and what was happening and I’m glad this all got explained at the end, however, I did feel I would have benefited from a more detailed explanation to make this clearer.
I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy psychological thrillers such as The Silent Patient!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed reading this book and liked the mysterious atmosphere and suspense that Krüger builds up from the beginning. I found that the detail really helped make the book darker and more thrilling. I really had no idea how the plot would unfold and it kept me guessing until the end.
I found Jasmin quite a conflicting character, I could definitely sympathise with her but also found her actions questionable. At times I did become confused with the plot and what was happening and I’m glad this all got explained at the end, however, I did feel I would have benefited from a more detailed explanation to make this clearer.
I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy psychological thrillers such as The Silent Patient!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
fionabond's review against another edition
3.0
I don’t know what I think about this book. For a large portion of the story I was confused, not really understanding what was happening which does tie in with the main characters experience and the story itself. At times I found the content to be far scarier than I had expected which isn’t really to my taste, I don’t like scary and this novel really pushed me outside of what I consider comfortable. I found the main character okay but didn’t really love her, the more the story went on the more frustrated and annoyed I got with her, I found her son’s voice to be far older than the 5 years he was supposed to be, but this again could be connected to the storyline. I wonder if some of my issues are to do with the way the story was translated as I’m conscious that some things may get lost or changed during this process.. I did find the story gripping, however, and I didn’t want to put it down. I read it very quickly because it was easy to get into and when I had to put it down I really wanted to continue reading. Not a favourite book, not a hated book, just a book that I have read and enjoyed enough to read quickly.
aliasreads13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
5.0
Ok I have had this sitting in my TBR list for a while. I really thought I had an idea what was going to happen, and wow. I was wrong. Not completely wrong, but a bit wrong. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a twisty book that will leave you guessing until the end!
readingwithbuddy's review against another edition
4.0
I found this really dark but interesting. It started off very difficult to read and I put it aside for a few weeks. Today I went back to it and I must have been in a better place to read it and get absorbed as I wanted to find out what happened.
Other people said the twist was obvious - to be fair I had thought it was something completely different. I think that is what makes a good book.
This is a first book by this author and I hope it wont be the last.
I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest and fair review which I have done so.
Other people said the twist was obvious - to be fair I had thought it was something completely different. I think that is what makes a good book.
This is a first book by this author and I hope it wont be the last.
I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest and fair review which I have done so.
jennyjones's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I absolutely loved the first half of this book. The pace was perfect, the suspense building so well and I felt genuinely anxious and tense over what was going to happen. The concept of the story was also really intriguing: a woman who believes she hit someone in a car accident, despite no one else believing her because only the body of a deer was found, travels to a remote island with her dog and son to work through this trauma and see if she can work out what happened.
When we reached part 2, however, it all went a little bit crazy. The pace became a lot faster, which ruined a lot of the suspense for me. The narrator seemed incredibly paranoid, but also jumped to confusing conclusions which just didn't make any sense but just so happened to be correct. I was expecting this craziness to build into a big finale, but instead it just descended into the explanation in a bit of a 'meh' kind of way.
I did love the idea of this book, and the explanation of what was going on was a very interesting concept - I just didn't enjoy the craziness of the second half and spent a lot of time being very confused. If you enjoy an unreliable narrator - you may enjoy that element.
Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for letting me read this book.
When we reached part 2, however, it all went a little bit crazy. The pace became a lot faster, which ruined a lot of the suspense for me. The narrator seemed incredibly paranoid, but also jumped to confusing conclusions which just didn't make any sense but just so happened to be correct. I was expecting this craziness to build into a big finale, but instead it just descended into the explanation in a bit of a 'meh' kind of way.
I did love the idea of this book, and the explanation of what was going on was a very interesting concept - I just didn't enjoy the craziness of the second half and spent a lot of time being very confused. If you enjoy an unreliable narrator - you may enjoy that element.
Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for letting me read this book.
More...