littlelizzieborden's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the book at first but it there was too much unnecessary filler throughout.
writing_inthemountains's review against another edition
2.0
This book is focused on the disappearance and mysterious death of Rey Rivera. We’ve met Rey and Allison on the first episode of the new mini serie Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix. After seeing the whole show, you can see why they’ve started with Rey’s case. One day he runs out of the house and never comes back. His wife Allison is out of town, on a business trip. Six days later, family finds his body on the property of the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore. The clues surrounding his death are wild. Free masons, the movie The Game where someone finds their demise like Rey did, his friend that doesn’t say a thing. It’s just plain weird, I think it’s a mystery that will never be solved.
“The poster is new. I notice it right away, taped to a utility pole. Beneath the word ‘Missing, ‘ printed in a bold, high-impact font, are two sepia-toned photographs of a man dressed in a bow tie and tux.”
Mikita Brottman spent ten years sifting through the details of the missing man’s life and disappearance, and his purported suicide by jumping from the roof of her own apartment building, the Belvedere.
This book feels like an amateur wrote it, a crime fan, the facts don’t line up from the start with what Allison said in the Netflix interview or maybe Netflix cut a lot of it. I just started reading this book and I hope it’s not another bs book that takes credits from a trauma. To be fair, this book would had beed wild if Allison or someone in the family had written it, they just know better.
Ok, so whilst reading the book I did discover that the author was pretty informed about the case and even talked with Allison Rivera. The beginning isn’t that great but through the ending it gets better.
It’s weird to be careful of how I say things and to basically censorship myself but this isn’t a simple murder, this is complicated, they are still active, I know you guys surely know who did it, the family knows for sure but it’s one of those cases where you can’t just talk about it without being afraid or paranoid, just like Rey was, for a good reason…
I am sure this isn’t and won’t be a legally solved case, although I do believe the murderer is known. I said the murderer because I don’t believe this is a suicide. It’s not uncommon for things like this to happen, sadly but it is uncommon for the murderer to not get caught.
I was wondering if I should do this review or not… because even by posting it, it will draw attention to the case again. I do hope that one day it will get solved but it’s a very scary case, with a scary group behind it.
I do recommend the Netflix serie, but first, read the book. Other way around is kinda boring. The ending though, did the author truly believes it’s suicide from mental breakdown? If you read her point of view, it could be.
“The poster is new. I notice it right away, taped to a utility pole. Beneath the word ‘Missing, ‘ printed in a bold, high-impact font, are two sepia-toned photographs of a man dressed in a bow tie and tux.”
Mikita Brottman spent ten years sifting through the details of the missing man’s life and disappearance, and his purported suicide by jumping from the roof of her own apartment building, the Belvedere.
This book feels like an amateur wrote it, a crime fan, the facts don’t line up from the start with what Allison said in the Netflix interview or maybe Netflix cut a lot of it. I just started reading this book and I hope it’s not another bs book that takes credits from a trauma. To be fair, this book would had beed wild if Allison or someone in the family had written it, they just know better.
Ok, so whilst reading the book I did discover that the author was pretty informed about the case and even talked with Allison Rivera. The beginning isn’t that great but through the ending it gets better.
It’s weird to be careful of how I say things and to basically censorship myself but this isn’t a simple murder, this is complicated, they are still active, I know you guys surely know who did it, the family knows for sure but it’s one of those cases where you can’t just talk about it without being afraid or paranoid, just like Rey was, for a good reason…
I am sure this isn’t and won’t be a legally solved case, although I do believe the murderer is known. I said the murderer because I don’t believe this is a suicide. It’s not uncommon for things like this to happen, sadly but it is uncommon for the murderer to not get caught.
I was wondering if I should do this review or not… because even by posting it, it will draw attention to the case again. I do hope that one day it will get solved but it’s a very scary case, with a scary group behind it.
I do recommend the Netflix serie, but first, read the book. Other way around is kinda boring. The ending though, did the author truly believes it’s suicide from mental breakdown? If you read her point of view, it could be.
alexiscollins's review against another edition
3.0
I feel rather indifferent about this read other than that I believe the author and I think in very different ways. While I found the background of the other suicides at the Belvedere to enhance the story, I think they could have been better placed to make it more cohesive.
librarymouse's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
1.25
The contents of this book do not line up well with the blurb. Much of the first half sounds like suicidal ideation through the quotes from the different organizations that advocate for individuals who want to die at the time they choose. At points throughout the first half of the book, there's straight up advice. The narration is disjointed, and I feel that this would have been better written as a memoir about the author's constant feeling of invisibility and her fascination with suicide, and a brief publication about her research into Rey Rivera's death. Otherwise, if it had been written as her investigation followed by a section of reflection, this would have been more easily consumable. One thing the blurb gets right is that this book is incredibly voyeuristic. I'm somewhat uncomfortable in having read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Body horror, Death, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Suicide, Violence, and Self harm
ceeemvee's review against another edition
1.0
Thank to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
And honestly, I always feel so bad when I rate a book so low, but don’t think I could do any more than 1 star, just for the author’s effort.
From the title and the description, I expected this to be an in-depth look at the unexplained death of Rey Rivera. It started in that fashion, and then derailed completely. We begin with a brief introduction to Rey Rivera and the Belvedere, where the author lives and where Rey Rivera died. The author then leads us down the path of her psychoanalysis for insecurity as she feels she is invisible. I’m guessing it ties in as we are all invisible until something happens? Next, the author goes into quite a lot of detail about suicide with macabre ramblings that don’t connect to the story. We then move a bit deeper into Rey’s story, but there are so many open topics (suicide, accident, murder, the Masons, his business associates) that the author brings up, then just lets them sit while she moves to taking about walking her dog in a park, rabid bats and poisoned rats. And more suicides thrown in for good measure. I couldn’t follow her connections, the story about Rey was totally unsatisfying, and the book is just the author’s morbid curiosity about anything and everything put down on paper.
www.candysplanet.wordpress.com
And honestly, I always feel so bad when I rate a book so low, but don’t think I could do any more than 1 star, just for the author’s effort.
From the title and the description, I expected this to be an in-depth look at the unexplained death of Rey Rivera. It started in that fashion, and then derailed completely. We begin with a brief introduction to Rey Rivera and the Belvedere, where the author lives and where Rey Rivera died. The author then leads us down the path of her psychoanalysis for insecurity as she feels she is invisible. I’m guessing it ties in as we are all invisible until something happens? Next, the author goes into quite a lot of detail about suicide with macabre ramblings that don’t connect to the story. We then move a bit deeper into Rey’s story, but there are so many open topics (suicide, accident, murder, the Masons, his business associates) that the author brings up, then just lets them sit while she moves to taking about walking her dog in a park, rabid bats and poisoned rats. And more suicides thrown in for good measure. I couldn’t follow her connections, the story about Rey was totally unsatisfying, and the book is just the author’s morbid curiosity about anything and everything put down on paper.
www.candysplanet.wordpress.com
duchessofreadin's review against another edition
4.0
The story of Ray Rivera's death has raised many questions - ever since it was first reported that he was missing. He was not the type of man to just walk out and never return. While his wife was away on a business trip, he left the house in a rush, never to be seen again.
The case has taken several turns, no one really knowing where he was going or why. When his body turned up at the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore, even more questions were raised. How did he get there? Did he jump? Was he pushed? Why were his shoes found where they were, and his cell phone - it was not broken, nor did it look as though it had been through a fall. It simply looked like they were placed there, while Ray himself looked as though he had come from a great height.
The mystery surrounding his death remains, and this book goes through the case, his life, and what was going on before he died.
Loved this book! It was amazing! Definitely worth a read!
The case has taken several turns, no one really knowing where he was going or why. When his body turned up at the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore, even more questions were raised. How did he get there? Did he jump? Was he pushed? Why were his shoes found where they were, and his cell phone - it was not broken, nor did it look as though it had been through a fall. It simply looked like they were placed there, while Ray himself looked as though he had come from a great height.
The mystery surrounding his death remains, and this book goes through the case, his life, and what was going on before he died.
Loved this book! It was amazing! Definitely worth a read!