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msappear's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was an interesting one. It starts out a little too campy for my taste. For example she says "swoon." twice before page 20 rather than showing us in some other way that Tricia is in love with Ethan.
I also wasn't a fan of the therapy sessions at all. Adrianne is too cold and uncaring to be a therapist. It felt like she was only there to logic her patients out of serious mental illnesses. It's clear the author has never actually been to therapy.
Adrianne especially annoyed me every time she mentioned a study or statistic. There was one passage about gender roles on page 168 that was so out of left field wrong and annoying I almost DNFed right there.
But I didn't DNF. For all of the flaws the book has, the story itself made up for it. I really thought I had it all figured out, but the author did a great job of having you look in one place while the magic was really happening elsewhere. I enjoyed the big reveal and I especially enjoyed how it ended.
Not a perfect book by any means, but I had fun and it fooled me in the best way.
I also wasn't a fan of the therapy sessions at all. Adrianne is too cold and uncaring to be a therapist. It felt like she was only there to logic her patients out of serious mental illnesses. It's clear the author has never actually been to therapy.
Adrianne especially annoyed me every time she mentioned a study or statistic. There was one passage about gender roles on page 168 that was so out of left field wrong and annoying I almost DNFed right there.
But I didn't DNF. For all of the flaws the book has, the story itself made up for it. I really thought I had it all figured out, but the author did a great job of having you look in one place while the magic was really happening elsewhere. I enjoyed the big reveal and I especially enjoyed how it ended.
Not a perfect book by any means, but I had fun and it fooled me in the best way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Murder
maggiemichael's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Mental illness, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
christinewashere's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Blood, Mental illness, and Stalking
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
mikaylamills's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Another fabulous Freida book! Every single theory I had was absolutely wrong. I never saw the twist coming and it had me shook to my core.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Pregnancy, Stalking, and Vomit
renegaderoxi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
2.5
I know this book gets high ratings, so I’m willing to admit that perhaps it just wasn’t my cup of tea, (and that’s totally okay). This was my first Frieda McFadden book and I’d be willing to give another one a try just to have a basis for comparison.
I’m giving 2 and a half stars in acknowledgment of the fact that the “whodunnit” towards the book’s end was twisty and did catch me by surprise. But the characters were, for me, so unbelievable and unlikeable that I couldn’t even bring myself to care. Perhaps the twists would have hit much harder if I could have.
The beginning felt very repetitive to me with Tricia’s declarations of how wonderful her new husband was, and certain details of the story that were hammered home again and again. Now that I’ve read the end, I understand that these details were repeated on purpose to draw your attention to a particular place, and make you think one thing was going on, while it was really a wholly different thing altogether, a bit of literary sleight-of-hand, if you will.
Although, I give stars because McFadden pulled it off and I didn’t guess correctly, in part, this was because the characters’ actions just seemed so far fetched. Even if you account for the fact that extreme mental illness and psychopathy could account for seemingly incomprehensible and over-the-top courses of action that result in a domino-effect of terrible events, surely not all the characters in the book are this disturbed.
It seems the book wanted to venture into the premise that all human beings are capable of terribly dark acts given the right circumstances. Perhaps this is true, but the circumstances that caused these characters to give in to their worst impulses were, in my opinion, fairly low-stakes. (This was not the case for all of them), but was so often enough for me to find it highly unlikely and therefore lacking believability.
That said, it was a quick read. I was able to finish it in one afternoon with plenty of breaks taken, so if you’re looking for a fast-paced, thriller read covering the themes of psychology/Psychiatry, mental illness, a grand spooky house in the middle of nowhere, a stalker and blackmail and human beings behaving at their worst, then this book just may be for you, and hopefully you’ll like it more than I did.
I’m giving 2 and a half stars in acknowledgment of the fact that the “whodunnit” towards the book’s end was twisty and did catch me by surprise. But the characters were, for me, so unbelievable and unlikeable that I couldn’t even bring myself to care. Perhaps the twists would have hit much harder if I could have.
The beginning felt very repetitive to me with Tricia’s declarations of how wonderful her new husband was, and certain details of the story that were hammered home again and again. Now that I’ve read the end, I understand that these details were repeated on purpose to draw your attention to a particular place, and make you think one thing was going on, while it was really a wholly different thing altogether, a bit of literary sleight-of-hand, if you will.
Although, I give stars because McFadden pulled it off and I didn’t guess correctly, in part, this was because the characters’ actions just seemed so far fetched. Even if you account for the fact that extreme mental illness and psychopathy could account for seemingly incomprehensible and over-the-top courses of action that result in a domino-effect of terrible events, surely not all the characters in the book are this disturbed.
It seems the book wanted to venture into the premise that all human beings are capable of terribly dark acts given the right circumstances. Perhaps this is true, but the circumstances that caused these characters to give in to their worst impulses were, in my opinion, fairly low-stakes. (This was not the case for all of them), but was so often enough for me to find it highly unlikely and therefore lacking believability.
That said, it was a quick read. I was able to finish it in one afternoon with plenty of breaks taken, so if you’re looking for a fast-paced, thriller read covering the themes of psychology/Psychiatry, mental illness, a grand spooky house in the middle of nowhere, a stalker and blackmail and human beings behaving at their worst, then this book just may be for you, and hopefully you’ll like it more than I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Mental illness, and Death
bookedandbusy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was another incredible thriller! I always think I’ve guessed the twist and then it catches me off guard!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Moderate: Ableism
ellaticonstellation's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Confinement, Death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Pregnancy
bryelle's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Soooooo goood. I kept having to update my hypothesis of what was going on. Amazing!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Pregnancy and Murder
crimsonreadlips's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Torture, and Kidnapping
amandab0514'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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Murder, Mental illness, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcohol, Medical content, and Alcoholism
Minor: Vomit