Reviews

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

cedrisc's review against another edition

2.0

This book started out ok and then it slowly lost me. I have read a lot of similar books lately, about poor trash and murder mysteries in small crappy towns. It makes me want to visit some in the US and see the waitresses who have been there for 40yrs lol.
I rolled my eyes when the murderer was revealed. I guess it all tied together but I really didn't identify with these people. It was just words, I didn't feel any emotion.

na_aleksandrova's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

lola113's review against another edition

3.0

Entertaining quick read with a sharp objects by Gillian Flynn feel to it ✌

autumn_rayne's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 the twist was good, but I felt like the reasoning didn’t make sense.

vanessa177's review against another edition

3.0

I found the portions of the book that were focused on the main character's grief to be gripping, and I feel like this was worth reading for that element, even though I found quite a lot about the novel disappointing. The resolution to the mystery was a disappointment, but the author did keep me invested through the first few twists.

While I liked Eve as a character, something was off about how she interacted with the book's setting. She seemed to be observing the town she has lived in her whole life almost as though she was an outsider, which doesn't fit the story.

sleepysoba's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

2.5

readingindreams's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

chaosandbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

crazybooklady89's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It was okay. I kinda saw the ending coming, but had a different theory as to the “why” behind the murder. Overall, it was an entertaining listen, and I thought the narrator of the audiobook did a great job!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Classism

beegcly's review against another edition

3.0

the familiar dark: what a great, quick read! This book is centred around the deaths of two twelve year old girls, Izzy and Junie, and Junie’s mothers quest to find out who killed them. This book was suspenseful and hard to put down! I loved all of the background the author provided about the characters and the interwoven relationships that existed. While I really enjoyed this book for about 90% of it, I did not like the ending at all so for that reason I’m giving it 3.5/5⭐️ Overall, it a good book and a really fast thriller read, perfect for quarantine!
Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for my copy of this one!