Scan barcode
kaitlynisliterate'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
3.25
+ Interesting premise
+ Good execution of multiple POVs and time jumps
Cons
- The author tries too hard to set everything up for a perfect reveal but it makes the first half of the book quite boring
- After the big reveal, all of the plot twists are fairly predictable
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy
c4msx'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
Graphic: Pedophilia, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Drug abuse
noralutter's review against another edition
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
thelifeofkim19's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
kchann's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
4.5
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy
petab's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Miscarriage
minimicropup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- A parent. Overprotective in a behind-the-scenes way. One of their relationships gives their life meaning and they don’t really know who they are without that person.
- An adult child of the above-mentioned parent. Also overprotective. One of their relationships gave their life meaning, and they don’t really know who they are without that person.
- Set in the UK in a townhouse and the surrounding neighbourhood
- Realistic to plausible family dysfunction and personality disorders that could be a true crime case, with a touch of OTT flair.
- Realistic portrayal of how family dynamics can devolve into dysfunction and the creation of adult monsters because of seemingly innocuous protective reactions.
- The mix of “past” and “present” chapters are titled and served in a way that is engaging and flows well with the reveals and twists. We don’t have to wait a long time for our predictions to be validated (or reshaped!) as we get more information about the past and present.
- Prepare to mentally scream at the MCs. I didn't mind, because we get lots of insight into their minds and it was consistent with how they perceive and rationalize.
- Repetitiveness on some of the current events in the last half of the book that I think could have been trimmed. The “higher stakes” discussions felt like they were drawn out for too long and I had to hold back from skimming. However, this may have been my own bias because it all involved medical content that was terrifying to me, so I may have been a little too aware of every time that topic came up.
early signs of treatable cancer that are being denied treatment - Very twisty-turny plot. Not from being unfairly “tricked” (no Scooby Doo mysteries here) or excruciatingly suspense-baited (minimal “if only they knew what I had done” writing). I predicted a handful and was stunned by a handful. It didn’t feel OTT or overdone, and even as things escalated the characters stayed true to their perspectives, so it didn’t disconnect me from the story (it drew me in…even when I did NOT want to be there!)
- Twisty-turny thriller/suspense plots
- Following a parent-child relationship over multiple decades
- Exploration of the theory of genetic sexual attraction (not actually this but like, adjacent to or echoes of it), mother-child relationships, nature-vs-nurture, obsession, and family dysfunction
- Coming-of-age elements (the dark side!)
- Fight-for-your-life survival plot with a side of Stockholm syndrome
Graphic: Confinement and Torture
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Infertility, Violence, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death, Grief, and Medical trauma
lovelydeadgirl's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
stacey_reads_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, and Blood
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
emeraldsanto's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
I'm usually a fan of the confined space genre (shoutout to "Never Lie" by Freida McFadden) which mixes very well with mysteries/thrillers, but this one definitely takes it a step further than most.
There's just so many layers to this plot, each one unravelling itself before you in a precisely timed manner, leaving you absolutely no time to get bored.
Marrs manages to explore the many different storylines without losing the reader in the details. This mission is especially well supported by the author's writing style, which I found to be more straight to the point than others.
Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Blood, and Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting