directorpurry's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Blood, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty
nickoliver's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
1.0
This is possibly the stupidest thriller I've ever read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Stalking, and Vomit
Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Suicide
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual content
carisamarie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Sexual content, Sexism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Car accident, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
sallysimply's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It took me a while to get into this book; once I was in, I was totally hooked! The twists and reveals were really doing it for me... up until the end.
The ending feels rushed and thrown together, which is such a bummer. It does all make sense given what we know about the characters, but it left me feeling disappointed after such a wild ride.
I’ll add that, though sometimes it feels forced or heavy-handed, I was really interested in the discussion of women being seen as crazy and how easy it is for a woman to “disappear.” I didn’t expect that to be such a major theme in this book, and I enjoyed it.
The ending feels rushed and thrown together, which is such a bummer. It does all make sense given what we know about the characters, but it left me feeling disappointed after such a wild ride.
I’ll add that, though sometimes it feels forced or heavy-handed, I was really interested in the discussion of women being seen as crazy and how easy it is for a woman to “disappear.” I didn’t expect that to be such a major theme in this book, and I enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Vomit, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Gore
Minor: Cannibalism
jmeslener's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
saramackenzi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Thank you to the publisher, the author, and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
I have to start this review with what caught my attention initially. I absolutely loved the cover. I think the design is super intriguing and I think it works well for this mystery/thriller.
The concept of this novel was really interesting. I haven’t read a book that includes a podcast and I loved how it was worked in. At the start of each chapter, there is an outtake from Murder She Spoke where we can (possibly) find clues as well as get a better understanding of what Sera was referring to. Sera also references certain excerpts from the podcast that relates to a specific part of the book which was a great addition.
The writing style for this book tripped me up a little bit and actually took a bit to get used to. . and now that I’m finished I’m not sure I ever did get used to it. The story is written in first person; however, Sera is not talking to us, the reader, she is speaking to Rachel. Although, I think this choice was best for the book and I can’t see it written another way.
This book did start out kind of slow and I don’t believe anything started to pick up much till around the 40% mark. But because Sera is constantly changing her mind on what happened and “who done it,” the reader's mind is also kept guessing. Now I seem to have this unrecognized talent of guessing the killer or twist and this book was no different. While I didn’t guess every twist that happened, I was somewhat close.
Our main character in general keeps the reader on their toes. From the beginning, I was questioning Sera as a narrator. Her over-the-top obsession with Rachel was sort of concerning and the fact that the story is told from first person to Rachel made it creepier. I really found it difficult to feel for her, which may have been the intention but in actuality it made me want to send her to get professional help.
Okay, the ending. . honestly I was a bit unsatisfied. I felt there were still loose ends that needed to be cleared up. For example, (non-spoilery as we already know Sera is divorced) what happened with her ex-husband? He’s brought up several times and there’s a bit left unspoken between the two that was just never cleared up as well as some instances with Rachel’s parents. When scenes towards the end started to unfold, I was hoping for a bit more explanation and clarification as I was a bit confused at certain points. I was just a bit let down in that aspect.
I would recommend this book to those who like true crime mixed with fiction. For those who like a slower mystery and calmer thriller.
I’m really glad I got the opportunity to read this book, I think it’s a nice start as a debut novel and I’ll definitely be checking out this author's future work as I think she has good prospects.
I have to start this review with what caught my attention initially. I absolutely loved the cover. I think the design is super intriguing and I think it works well for this mystery/thriller.
The concept of this novel was really interesting. I haven’t read a book that includes a podcast and I loved how it was worked in. At the start of each chapter, there is an outtake from Murder She Spoke where we can (possibly) find clues as well as get a better understanding of what Sera was referring to. Sera also references certain excerpts from the podcast that relates to a specific part of the book which was a great addition.
The writing style for this book tripped me up a little bit and actually took a bit to get used to. . and now that I’m finished I’m not sure I ever did get used to it. The story is written in first person; however, Sera is not talking to us, the reader, she is speaking to Rachel. Although, I think this choice was best for the book and I can’t see it written another way.
This book did start out kind of slow and I don’t believe anything started to pick up much till around the 40% mark. But because Sera is constantly changing her mind on what happened and “who done it,” the reader's mind is also kept guessing. Now I seem to have this unrecognized talent of guessing the killer or twist and this book was no different. While I didn’t guess every twist that happened, I was somewhat close.
Our main character in general keeps the reader on their toes. From the beginning, I was questioning Sera as a narrator. Her over-the-top obsession with Rachel was sort of concerning and the fact that the story is told from first person to Rachel made it creepier. I really found it difficult to feel for her, which may have been the intention but in actuality it made me want to send her to get professional help.
Okay, the ending. . honestly I was a bit unsatisfied. I felt there were still loose ends that needed to be cleared up. For example, (non-spoilery as we already know Sera is divorced) what happened with her ex-husband? He’s brought up several times and there’s a bit left unspoken between the two that was just never cleared up as well as some instances with Rachel’s parents. When scenes towards the end started to unfold, I was hoping for a bit more explanation and clarification as I was a bit confused at certain points. I was just a bit let down in that aspect.
I would recommend this book to those who like true crime mixed with fiction. For those who like a slower mystery and calmer thriller.
I’m really glad I got the opportunity to read this book, I think it’s a nice start as a debut novel and I’ll definitely be checking out this author's future work as I think she has good prospects.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Miscarriage
rbookish's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
this honestly was a decent book, i didn't hate it, but it wasn't the best thing i read. but, it was still good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, and Violence
Jed is a drinker, and throughout the book he does drink a ton.
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