readerette's review
- 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
4.0
The ending was overdone for my taste (too many red herrings and an overly dramatic climactic scene) and some threads of the plot are left unresolved, but I appreciated the journey throughout the book of assessing what it really looks like to have psychopathy, and how much impact that has on a person's moral choices.
Moderate: Murder, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Infidelity, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Injury/injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Racism, and Suicide
pamshenanigans's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Really promising blurb that didn't deliver and only annoyed the shit out of me. It could've been a better game of cat and mouse between the psychopaths who are being hunted down and murdered, but it fell off around the middle mark up to the very end. I just powered through for the sake of finishing the book.
I do appreciate the author's effort in debunking and sort of normalizing how psychopaths are actually defined versus how society perceives them (i.e. not all psychopaths are murderers, they simply are egotistic people who lack empathy for others).
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Suicide
jessthebesst's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Stalking, Blood, Suicide, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Vomit, and Mental illness
vaniavela's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Told in several points of view, we follow Chloe Sevre, who has planned revenge on the man who raped her; Charles, the pretentious and wealthy son of a politician; and Andre, who faked his condition in order to afford the expenses of such a prestigious college education.
The premise of this book was interesting, with complex characters and mystery elements. At first, the book hooks you into the narrative, but the structure falls apart after a few chapters. Especially with such a slow pace. Likewise, I couldn't understand or empathize well with any of the characters as the different perspectives confused me. A book with only one perspective would have been a better choice.
Overall, a unique premise, but a half-hearted execution. It's a good book though, so I'll give the author's future works a read!
tw: murder, death, stalking, rape, sexual assault, gun violence, adult/minor relationship, suicide, blood, brutality, bullying, drug abuse, gore, mental illnesses, racism, sexual content, suicide, violence.
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Stalking
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Gun violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Blood
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The narrative style is a bit unusual. There are several main characters whose perspectives are shown as point-of-view characters. But only Chloe narrates in first-person, the others use third person. This creates detachment and uncertainty, which works especially well when Chloe suspects most of them of being the murderer at one time or another. I like Chloe, Charles, and Andre, they're a solid trio in the narrative, even as their individual relationships with each other are very different throughout the text. They make sense as people, which is important in a story which revolves around a bunch of characters having the same mental health diagnosis. Chloe has her own way of being a psychopath which is distinct from the others, with these traits often helping but just as frequently getting in the way of her goals. I like her as a character, and Charles has his own charm, but Andre is my favorite of the main three.
By focusing on characters who are diagnosed with psychopathy, the narrative takes advantage of an opportunity for a wonderful mix of showing and telling. Chloe knows that certain of her traits are because of her psychopathy, but that doesn't make her better at controlling her impulsiveness (at least not this early in the program).
This is a solid mystery, very thrilling. The twists and turns make sense without being immediately guessable. Part of what helps is there are lots of bad actors in addition to the actual murderer, so it becomes a matter of figuring out who is doing a bunch of bad things, whether they're doing one or several of them, and whether any of them are enough for that person to make sense as the killer.
Graphic: Violence, Death, Sexual content, Vomit, Murder, and Gun violence
Moderate: Drug use, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Blood, and Gore
Minor: Suicide, Pregnancy, Ableism, Child abuse, and Rape
syddsmiles1024's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Minor: Bullying, Car accident, Stalking, Rape, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Death, Drug use, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
odrib's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Drug use, and Infidelity
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Car accident
at806's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, Hate crime, Injury/injury detail, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Stalking
thenonmouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Torture, Ableism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cannibalism, Suicide, and Car accident
corar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, Mental illness, and Stalking
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Suicide