kristy_k's review against another edition
2.0
While the overall premise of the book was intriguing, too many irritating things kept me from enjoying it. Told in multiple POVs (I lost count after the 10th person chimed in), much of the time in the beginning I had to skim back to figure out who was who and how (if at all) they connected.
I found Carolyn, our only first person POV, to be an inconsistent character. One moment she's spouting about being an amazing lawyer and the next she's seeking counsel over general law questions any attorney should have known.
The other major issue for me was how incompetent and cold-hearted the police were portrayed as. The hurting siblings of the missing were out finding clues (with no investigative background), while the police apparently never thought to look in those places. Furthermore, they were made out to look extremely closed minded and hyper-focused on one suspect (to which each officer had a different idea as to who that was). Although police do make mistakes, I found this an unrealistic portrayal of what would happen in these circumstances.
The ending itself had a few good twists, but I felt the character development for most of the players was weak and made certain parts of the ending feel unbelievable.
I haven't read a Clark novel since high school, and I remember them being more suspenseful, but now I am thinking that may have been my young age and more innocent mind. Sadly, I found the story and the writing to be subpar to what I've come to expect out of my mysteries and thrillers. For great mysteries, I recommend [a:Tana French|138825|Tana French|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1277505771p2/138825.jpg], [a:Michael Connelly|12470|Michael Connelly|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1406128068p2/12470.jpg], and [a:Kathy Reichs|26372|Kathy Reichs|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1407166867p2/26372.jpg].
I found Carolyn, our only first person POV, to be an inconsistent character. One moment she's spouting about being an amazing lawyer and the next she's seeking counsel over general law questions any attorney should have known.
The other major issue for me was how incompetent and cold-hearted the police were portrayed as. The hurting siblings of the missing were out finding clues (with no investigative background), while the police apparently never thought to look in those places. Furthermore, they were made out to look extremely closed minded and hyper-focused on one suspect (to which each officer had a different idea as to who that was). Although police do make mistakes, I found this an unrealistic portrayal of what would happen in these circumstances.
The ending itself had a few good twists, but I felt the character development for most of the players was weak and made certain parts of the ending feel unbelievable.
I haven't read a Clark novel since high school, and I remember them being more suspenseful, but now I am thinking that may have been my young age and more innocent mind. Sadly, I found the story and the writing to be subpar to what I've come to expect out of my mysteries and thrillers. For great mysteries, I recommend [a:Tana French|138825|Tana French|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1277505771p2/138825.jpg], [a:Michael Connelly|12470|Michael Connelly|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1406128068p2/12470.jpg], and [a:Kathy Reichs|26372|Kathy Reichs|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1407166867p2/26372.jpg].
ssousaa's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
brynebo's review against another edition
3.0
No literary feat, but definitely entertaining. Would recommend to any mystery lover.
briebrie47's review against another edition
1.0
I literally could not even finish this book. I had like ~60 pages left and I skipped to the last page to see how it ended
princessleia4life's review against another edition
3.0
Was good until the end. The person they choose and the reasons behind it were kind of boring. The end was a bit of a letdown after the action and supposition. I also didn't like the way she portrayed the police officers.
gardeniasnowflake's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
momof2precious1s's review against another edition
2.0
At 1st I was interested in finding out what happened to Mack but I wasn't too crazy about the ending.