outsmartyourshelf's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Sera Fleece loves true crime podcasts, especially one by a host named Rachel Bard. Rachel's podcasts are about women & girls who go missing, & when Rachel suddenly goes silent, Sera thinks she has disappeared too. Sera uproots her life & heads off to where Rachel lived/lives but when she reaches the nearest town, Happy Camp, the locals are unfriendly & try to warn her off going to the ranch. Rachel's parents, mother Addy & father Emmett, are strangely unconcerned about Rachel's whereabouts. They hire Sera to look after the horses & start getting the camp quarters into shape for summer visitors. In her free time & the evening, Sera tries to find out what happened to Rachel & why everyone is so tight-lipped about the women who have disappeared over the years. Can Sera find out what happened to Rachel before Sera disappears too?
Oh dear. This could have been great - fan of crime podcast investigates the disappearance of the host. Instead we mostly get Sera mooching around the ranch & mooning after Jed (the stock Texas cowboy stereotype). In fact Sera is the main problem with this book, she is just really annoying. Her idea of investigation is just blurting questions out without actually thinking things through, & her insistence that she knows Rachel better than anyone else just because she listened to her true crime podcast is just weird & stalkerish. Also her knowledge that she really shouldn't trust anyone but she decides to trust Jed just because she's attracted to him. I kept reading, hoping it was going to suddenly pick up, but no - even the ending is unsatisfactory. Very disappointing.
Oh dear. This could have been great - fan of crime podcast investigates the disappearance of the host. Instead we mostly get Sera mooching around the ranch & mooning after Jed (the stock Texas cowboy stereotype). In fact Sera is the main problem with this book, she is just really annoying. Her idea of investigation is just blurting questions out without actually thinking things through, & her insistence that she knows Rachel better than anyone else just because she listened to her true crime podcast is just weird & stalkerish. Also her knowledge that she really shouldn't trust anyone but she decides to trust Jed just because she's attracted to him. I kept reading, hoping it was going to suddenly pick up, but no - even the ending is unsatisfactory. Very disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Miscarriage and Infidelity
odrib's review against another edition
challenging
slow-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? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage and Infidelity
nerdylitmajor's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This deftly woven, slow-building thriller is a WILD ride! Perfectly set in and around the true-crime podcast space, Brazier’s unique narrative examines themes of obsession, concern, parasocial relationships, gender, and bias in a variety of surprising and thought provoking ways. This is the sort of story that entangles you quickly, then has you pouring over its pages because you just. need. ANSWERS!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual assault
sweet_caroline's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.0
Overall, not the worst book I’ve ever read but I definitely wouldn’t recommend. It’s told from a first-person POV which I find pretty tough to get used to, but that’s just my preference. It’s also an incredibly slow build up with most of the action happening in the last 100 pages. The main character is also very hard to relate to and I just overall didn’t connect well with the characters or the book itself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage
carisamarie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Sexual content, Sexism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Car accident, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
larareads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcoholism and Kidnapping
sallysimply's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It took me a while to get into this book; once I was in, I was totally hooked! The twists and reveals were really doing it for me... up until the end.
The ending feels rushed and thrown together, which is such a bummer. It does all make sense given what we know about the characters, but it left me feeling disappointed after such a wild ride.
I’ll add that, though sometimes it feels forced or heavy-handed, I was really interested in the discussion of women being seen as crazy and how easy it is for a woman to “disappear.” I didn’t expect that to be such a major theme in this book, and I enjoyed it.
The ending feels rushed and thrown together, which is such a bummer. It does all make sense given what we know about the characters, but it left me feeling disappointed after such a wild ride.
I’ll add that, though sometimes it feels forced or heavy-handed, I was really interested in the discussion of women being seen as crazy and how easy it is for a woman to “disappear.” I didn’t expect that to be such a major theme in this book, and I enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Vomit, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Gore
Minor: Cannibalism
hookedbybooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What starts as an obsession story, it grows into something else.
A fan of podcaster Rachel, Sera goes on an investigation to find her when she goes missing. Now missing isn't the right word, per-se. As noone, including her family has filed a missing person's report. And no one else is worried, except for Sera. She goes to the family ranch, and gets herself hired as a farm hand to help with the horses, and find out more about Rachel's family as well as the missing woman herself.
This book weaves the reality of this lost woman, Sera in real world, with the idea of what she knows about Rachel and her world, and it becomes like a mind game. There are things where you cannot decipher who is who, and what is real, what Sera is reflecting of herself, and what is assumed or imagined.
What did bother me how trusty and naive Sera might have seen at times. You know when you watch a scary movie and you have that feeling that something bad is about to happen to the character.. Well for a true crime podcast obsessed, Sera didn't seem to be listening to her own senses, or having any fear at that.
The end! I had all these theories about where this story is going. And because I love a good obsession narrative, I was hoping I was right- but nope, missed it. Even though the clues are there! (they were just leading me the wrong direction).
Overall, a refreshing take. Smart, and engrossing. I loved the whole theme of disappearance, especially when it comes to the narratives, and how women are always painted.
A fan of podcaster Rachel, Sera goes on an investigation to find her when she goes missing. Now missing isn't the right word, per-se. As noone, including her family has filed a missing person's report. And no one else is worried, except for Sera. She goes to the family ranch, and gets herself hired as a farm hand to help with the horses, and find out more about Rachel's family as well as the missing woman herself.
This book weaves the reality of this lost woman, Sera in real world, with the idea of what she knows about Rachel and her world, and it becomes like a mind game. There are things where you cannot decipher who is who, and what is real, what Sera is reflecting of herself, and what is assumed or imagined.
What did bother me how trusty and naive Sera might have seen at times. You know when you watch a scary movie and you have that feeling that something bad is about to happen to the character.. Well for a true crime podcast obsessed, Sera didn't seem to be listening to her own senses, or having any fear at that.
The end! I had all these theories about where this story is going. And because I love a good obsession narrative, I was hoping I was right- but nope, missed it. Even though the clues are there! (they were just leading me the wrong direction).
Overall, a refreshing take. Smart, and engrossing. I loved the whole theme of disappearance, especially when it comes to the narratives, and how women are always painted.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Alcoholism, Confinement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, and Sexism
saramackenzi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.0
Thank you to the publisher, the author, and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
I have to start this review with what caught my attention initially. I absolutely loved the cover. I think the design is super intriguing and I think it works well for this mystery/thriller.
The concept of this novel was really interesting. I haven’t read a book that includes a podcast and I loved how it was worked in. At the start of each chapter, there is an outtake from Murder She Spoke where we can (possibly) find clues as well as get a better understanding of what Sera was referring to. Sera also references certain excerpts from the podcast that relates to a specific part of the book which was a great addition.
The writing style for this book tripped me up a little bit and actually took a bit to get used to. . and now that I’m finished I’m not sure I ever did get used to it. The story is written in first person; however, Sera is not talking to us, the reader, she is speaking to Rachel. Although, I think this choice was best for the book and I can’t see it written another way.
This book did start out kind of slow and I don’t believe anything started to pick up much till around the 40% mark. But because Sera is constantly changing her mind on what happened and “who done it,” the reader's mind is also kept guessing. Now I seem to have this unrecognized talent of guessing the killer or twist and this book was no different. While I didn’t guess every twist that happened, I was somewhat close.
Our main character in general keeps the reader on their toes. From the beginning, I was questioning Sera as a narrator. Her over-the-top obsession with Rachel was sort of concerning and the fact that the story is told from first person to Rachel made it creepier. I really found it difficult to feel for her, which may have been the intention but in actuality it made me want to send her to get professional help.
Okay, the ending. . honestly I was a bit unsatisfied. I felt there were still loose ends that needed to be cleared up. For example, (non-spoilery as we already know Sera is divorced) what happened with her ex-husband? He’s brought up several times and there’s a bit left unspoken between the two that was just never cleared up as well as some instances with Rachel’s parents. When scenes towards the end started to unfold, I was hoping for a bit more explanation and clarification as I was a bit confused at certain points. I was just a bit let down in that aspect.
I would recommend this book to those who like true crime mixed with fiction. For those who like a slower mystery and calmer thriller.
I’m really glad I got the opportunity to read this book, I think it’s a nice start as a debut novel and I’ll definitely be checking out this author's future work as I think she has good prospects.
I have to start this review with what caught my attention initially. I absolutely loved the cover. I think the design is super intriguing and I think it works well for this mystery/thriller.
The concept of this novel was really interesting. I haven’t read a book that includes a podcast and I loved how it was worked in. At the start of each chapter, there is an outtake from Murder She Spoke where we can (possibly) find clues as well as get a better understanding of what Sera was referring to. Sera also references certain excerpts from the podcast that relates to a specific part of the book which was a great addition.
The writing style for this book tripped me up a little bit and actually took a bit to get used to. . and now that I’m finished I’m not sure I ever did get used to it. The story is written in first person; however, Sera is not talking to us, the reader, she is speaking to Rachel. Although, I think this choice was best for the book and I can’t see it written another way.
This book did start out kind of slow and I don’t believe anything started to pick up much till around the 40% mark. But because Sera is constantly changing her mind on what happened and “who done it,” the reader's mind is also kept guessing. Now I seem to have this unrecognized talent of guessing the killer or twist and this book was no different. While I didn’t guess every twist that happened, I was somewhat close.
Our main character in general keeps the reader on their toes. From the beginning, I was questioning Sera as a narrator. Her over-the-top obsession with Rachel was sort of concerning and the fact that the story is told from first person to Rachel made it creepier. I really found it difficult to feel for her, which may have been the intention but in actuality it made me want to send her to get professional help.
Okay, the ending. . honestly I was a bit unsatisfied. I felt there were still loose ends that needed to be cleared up. For example, (non-spoilery as we already know Sera is divorced) what happened with her ex-husband? He’s brought up several times and there’s a bit left unspoken between the two that was just never cleared up as well as some instances with Rachel’s parents. When scenes towards the end started to unfold, I was hoping for a bit more explanation and clarification as I was a bit confused at certain points. I was just a bit let down in that aspect.
I would recommend this book to those who like true crime mixed with fiction. For those who like a slower mystery and calmer thriller.
I’m really glad I got the opportunity to read this book, I think it’s a nice start as a debut novel and I’ll definitely be checking out this author's future work as I think she has good prospects.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Miscarriage
briwithabook's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a really creepy and fast-paced book. I tore through it in 24 hours, because I couldn't wait to get to the end in the hopes of getting some answers about what was going on at the creepy, desolate ranch where the bulk of the story was located.
Sera is at a place in her life where she feels down, depressed and alone. The one person she really feels a connection to is Rachel, a true-crime podcast host (whom Sera has never met) that investigates the disappearances of women. When Rachel herself appears to go missing, Sera decides to go in search of answers.
I found the setting and characters in this one to definitely be eerie. It wasn't the kind of thriller that would make me scared to be alone in the house or to go to sleep, but it was definitely creepy enough to keep my interest to the point that I stayed up way too late reading it.
As someone who has had a lifelong interest in true-crime (and has spent the past several years listening to true-crime podcasts), I found the plot and format of this book to be really appealing. I liked that each chapter started with a snippet from a podcast episode, and that the chapters were short and quick to read. The story definitely kept me guessing, and while I had of course formed my own potential theories, I was never confident in them and they continually changed over the course of the book. I enjoy thrillers in which I do not guess the ending, and this one did not disappoint.
The only thing I will say is that the pacing could be improved. There were some sections of the book that felt a bit drawn out and overly detailed, and then the last section of the book felt like so much was crammed into a small part of the book. It didn't take away from the book, but was just something that I noticed. I suppose that can be true of a lot of thrillers, as the author doesn't want to give anything away too early - I just felt like maybe the last section was a bit rushed, after so much build up.
If you like thrillers and you are a fan of true-crime, I think you will find this an enjoyable read.
Sera is at a place in her life where she feels down, depressed and alone. The one person she really feels a connection to is Rachel, a true-crime podcast host (whom Sera has never met) that investigates the disappearances of women. When Rachel herself appears to go missing, Sera decides to go in search of answers.
I found the setting and characters in this one to definitely be eerie. It wasn't the kind of thriller that would make me scared to be alone in the house or to go to sleep, but it was definitely creepy enough to keep my interest to the point that I stayed up way too late reading it.
As someone who has had a lifelong interest in true-crime (and has spent the past several years listening to true-crime podcasts), I found the plot and format of this book to be really appealing. I liked that each chapter started with a snippet from a podcast episode, and that the chapters were short and quick to read. The story definitely kept me guessing, and while I had of course formed my own potential theories, I was never confident in them and they continually changed over the course of the book. I enjoy thrillers in which I do not guess the ending, and this one did not disappoint.
The only thing I will say is that the pacing could be improved. There were some sections of the book that felt a bit drawn out and overly detailed, and then the last section of the book felt like so much was crammed into a small part of the book. It didn't take away from the book, but was just something that I noticed. I suppose that can be true of a lot of thrillers, as the author doesn't want to give anything away too early - I just felt like maybe the last section was a bit rushed, after so much build up.
If you like thrillers and you are a fan of true-crime, I think you will find this an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Murder, and Animal death
Minor: Vomit and Miscarriage