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parasolcrafter'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: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Dementia
emilyspex'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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Dementia, and Death of parent
arthur_ant18'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
3.0
Like I said, though, The Club drew me in once the second half started. Fitting, since that’s when the threads of everyone’s individual subplots intertwine and you really begin to learn what messed-up crap the complicated characters are hiding. Aside from Ned’s personal assistant Nikki Hayes and Island Home’s head of housekeeping Jess Wilson, the only ones I truly rooted for (and kept mixing up until the second half, which apparently happened to other readers as well), almost everyone else belongs on varying levels of the slimeball scale. And that’s not a bad thing. Lloyd executes the trick of pulling you into a locked-room mystery that’s full of well-written douchebags without causing you to feel like they’re so unbearably unlikable that you have to DNF the book.
The somewhat predictable climax is enjoyable nevertheless, while the denouement isn’t nearly as tidily wrapped up as I would have expected for a thriller. This latter point was probably a deliberate choice, considering a passage near the end that contrasts the murky and incomplete conclusions of real life with the clean and final answers of fictional murder mysteries.
Overall, The Club won’t knock your socks off, but if you’re a Lucy Foley fan, you can stand the first half’s slowness, and you want a thriller that thrives on the glitzy and shady facets of its characters, I recommend adding this to your TBR pile.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Blood, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Vomit, Dementia, and Death of parent