eleeowart's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
3.25
Read this really quickly! Entertaining enough, really enjoyed it but also wasn’t as…deep or compelling as I expected from a dark academia book.
Spoiler
I knew it was him when he asked Scarlett to get away with him. Duh. /Spoiler
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
flobrown's review
mysterious
medium-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
2.0
olga_naden's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A twisty psychological thriller with multiple POV
‘Riley Sager meets If We Were Villains in a compelling new psychological thriller by R. J. Jacobs, following a tight-knit group of graduate students studying the psychology of lying. When one of them is discovered dead after an experiment, everything the group thought they knew about deception crumbles . . . Campus is empty, a winter storm is blowing in, and someone is lurking in the shadows, waiting for their chance to kill again. Forest, North Carolina. Under the instruction of enigmatic Professor Joe Lyons, five graduate students are studying the tedious science behind the acts of lying. But discovering the secrets of deception isn't making any of the students more honest though. Instead, it's making it easier for them to guard their own secrets—and they all have something to hide. When a test goes awry and one of them is found dead, the students find themselves trapped by a snowstorm on an abandoned campus with a local detective on the case. As harboured secrets begin to break the surface, the graduates must find out who's lying, who isn't, and who may have been capable of committing murder. It turns out deception is even more dangerous than they thought . . .’
This book offers an exhilarating mystery and keeps you guessing throughout. I especially loved multiple points of view. With its brisk and riveting narrative, a pervasive sense of confinement and unease, and an array of ingenious mind games, it will continuously challenge you to decipher the killer's identity, holding you in suspense until the very conclusion. Notably, the final third of the story was exceptionally breathless and pulse-pounding. Although I had a hunch about the perpetrator's identity as I neared the end, I relished the gradual unravelling of the mystery and the meticulous arrangement of puzzle pieces, leaving no room for loopholes.
Was it the best thriller I have ever read? No. Did I enjoy it? Absolutely. If you are looking for a fast read with multiple points of view and many characters with secrets, this is the book for you.
Tags: thriller, mystery, whodunit, crime, adult, suspense, psychological thriller
pagesplotsandpints's review
3.0
Read Completed 9/23/23 | 3 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for this audiobook review copy and the publisher, Sourcebooks, for approving the request. This did not affect my reading or opinion in any way.
This book promised a lot of things but didn't really deliver on them.
- Dark Academia: it was dark, it took place at a school... the main characters were grad students and there wasn't much academia about it other than the fact that there was a school there.
- Tight-knit group of grad students: Not really. They weren't very tight at all. There was a couple having an affair, two students who were tight but we didn't know why until later (a reason that was used for literally nothing, a waste), and two who were a potential love story. They were actually at each other's throats a lot.
-Studying the acts of lying: It... was there? It really didn't come into play at all except for creating some drama in the beginning??
This had SO much promise to be super twisty, unreliable narrators everywhere, clever characters, unique connections... it just fell so, so flat in so many ways. I ended up leaving my rating at 3 stars because it was ** fine **. I made it through the book, didn't think about DNFing, but man, it just really didn't deliver.
The ending was very lack-luster and when I found out who the killer was, I just wasn't impressed. I didn't fully see it coming, but I did have a hunch. There was still a surprise there but the way it all wrapped up was a little too popcorn thriller and much less the psychological mind-bending thriller the was promised to the readers. It also felt a little cheap... I'm gonna have to spoiler tag this.
I don't hate that I read it. I would have been so curious if I didn't, and I did like ALWAYS THE FIRST TO DIE by this author. Sadly, I think that's he only one of his that I've really liked so far out of the four that I've tried.
Thank you to NetGalley for this audiobook review copy and the publisher, Sourcebooks, for approving the request. This did not affect my reading or opinion in any way.
This book promised a lot of things but didn't really deliver on them.
- Dark Academia: it was dark, it took place at a school... the main characters were grad students and there wasn't much academia about it other than the fact that there was a school there.
- Tight-knit group of grad students: Not really. They weren't very tight at all. There was a couple having an affair, two students who were tight but we didn't know why until later (a reason that was used for literally nothing, a waste), and two who were a potential love story. They were actually at each other's throats a lot.
-Studying the acts of lying: It... was there? It really didn't come into play at all except for creating some drama in the beginning??
This had SO much promise to be super twisty, unreliable narrators everywhere, clever characters, unique connections... it just fell so, so flat in so many ways. I ended up leaving my rating at 3 stars because it was ** fine **. I made it through the book, didn't think about DNFing, but man, it just really didn't deliver.
The ending was very lack-luster and when I found out who the killer was, I just wasn't impressed. I didn't fully see it coming, but I did have a hunch. There was still a surprise there but the way it all wrapped up was a little too popcorn thriller and much less the psychological mind-bending thriller the was promised to the readers. It also felt a little cheap... I'm gonna have to spoiler tag this.
Spoiler
We focus so much on this "tight" (again, not tight) group of grad students and yet, the killer was an outsider??? With a SUPER poor motive, in connection with this very story and premise. Ah, nah. Not buying it. Then make the book connect to his life, somehow! He was so peripheral. I was so let down.I don't hate that I read it. I would have been so curious if I didn't, and I did like ALWAYS THE FIRST TO DIE by this author. Sadly, I think that's he only one of his that I've really liked so far out of the four that I've tried.
natalieraye's review
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
great concept. poor execution. the book is a 'whodunnit' situation but the author fell very flat in making the core characters seem suspicious, which is why i wasn't blown away by the reveal because i was already convinced that none of them did it. 70% of the book is running in circles with the detective getting absolutely nowhere in the investigation. every investigation was extremely short and revealed nothing. the characters in the book, for the most part, are extremely dislikable. (veronica, britt and chris) britt and chris improve to the end but even the rest are all dull. the book was still interesting enough to have me reading through it rather quickly, and i really liked the concept but i just felt like so much more could have been done.
the writing was okay for the most part, although the author likes to state the obvious a lot and does a lot of telling instead of showing
i was so excited to read this book but was disappointed :-( but i heard his other books are better sso maybe I'll give those a go
the writing was okay for the most part, although the author likes to state the obvious a lot and does a lot of telling instead of showing
i was so excited to read this book but was disappointed :-( but i heard his other books are better sso maybe I'll give those a go
bdbishop's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
memull17's review
4.25
When one member of the graduate team ends up dead; all suspicion is one them as the rest of the campus is deserted. They all have something to hide but some of their secrets are more deadly than others.
I love when there is multiple POVs throughout a story especially in ones written in a locked room mystery style in an academic setting. Each of the graduate students have something to hide and when you learn about the experiment they are working on you instantly become more suspicious of them. I enjoy it when you can’t tell right away who is the guilty party but are eventually able to figure it out when you piece together all the bread crumbs.
If you like dark academia books or locked room mysteries, definitely add this book to your tbr.
Thank you @bookmarked and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.
alwaysaudreyreads's review
3.0
"Campus is empty, a winter storm is blowing in, and someone is lurking in the shadows, waiting for their chance to kill again."
This book is a slow burn. We follow a group of graduate students who are studying the act of lying as they discover that one of their own has been murdered. Each is more determined than ever to hide their own secrets. The premise is fantastic, with an urgency to collect the evidence, peel back the layers of secrets that each student holds, all before the encroaching winter storm hits and buries the truth. And to do this with a group of people who study lying, how do you know who's telling the truth?
For me, this book didn't fully deliver. I thought that some of the students secrets weren't very interesting, the twists weren't very twisty, and in the end I didn't care too much about the characters. With that said, I did keep reading because I wanted to know who the murderer was - I just couldn't figure it out.
It's important to note that I read a lot of thrillers. I think that this makes it harder for me to find one that really stands out. This is a solid story, it just didn't knock my socks off.
Thank you to @netgalley @highbridgeaudio and @scourcebooks for the gifted copy of this book.
This book is a slow burn. We follow a group of graduate students who are studying the act of lying as they discover that one of their own has been murdered. Each is more determined than ever to hide their own secrets. The premise is fantastic, with an urgency to collect the evidence, peel back the layers of secrets that each student holds, all before the encroaching winter storm hits and buries the truth. And to do this with a group of people who study lying, how do you know who's telling the truth?
For me, this book didn't fully deliver. I thought that some of the students secrets weren't very interesting, the twists weren't very twisty, and in the end I didn't care too much about the characters. With that said, I did keep reading because I wanted to know who the murderer was - I just couldn't figure it out.
It's important to note that I read a lot of thrillers. I think that this makes it harder for me to find one that really stands out. This is a solid story, it just didn't knock my socks off.
Thank you to @netgalley @highbridgeaudio and @scourcebooks for the gifted copy of this book.