minimicropup's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fanatical, sanguine, peculiar
Our MC, struggling with their life of loneliness and instability, finds solace in true crime podcasts. When their favourite host stops posting, the last bright spot in their life is gone and they fear the worst has happened.
🇺🇸 Set in Happy Camp and a nearby ranch in Northern California, USA
🐺Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags🐕
😃 The present tense narration directed exclusively at the podcast host added to the creepy elements and drew me in from the first chapter. I did not want this book to end and there were multiple times where I thought "where could we possibly go from here?"
👍😃 If you aren't big into true crime I think this would still be an interesting story, but if you are a fan or regular consumer, it's enhanced by references to common tips and actual 'infamous' true crime cases paired with fictionalized ones that seemed so plausible I found myself looking them up. Each chapter starts with a blurb from a case that hints at the theme and event to come.
🥺 The character development (respectfully) plays in the area between highly sensitive neurodivergence and completely unhinged delusional danger. At first I was there for all the cringe Sera brings to the story but then I started to care for her. It isn't contrived or convenient, but she was still annoying so you may struggle with this if you don't like think-yelling things like "what is WRONG with you?!" and "No, no do NOT go over there and say those things!"
🤪 Creepy small town isolation with an odd family done right. Each character is 'off' in their own way and we go back and forth about trusting them and their explanations for what is going on. The isolation comes from not knowing where the safe spaces are anymore and being too invested to leave...but still being able to.
😳 I wish there was a ranch map at the start. The ranch has all these well drawn out regions where we spend a lot of time and I kept misplacing them in relation to others.
😍 The suspense comes from the eerie undercurrent, figuring out who to trust, getting invested along with the MC in what is going on and if anyone is even in danger and if so, who? There are times where nothing much happens but I love that in stories as long as it's used to build more suspense and mystery and is paired with good character, plot, or world development.
🤷♀️ This is the kind of story where you can predict what happened because we are consistently getting clues (and lets face it, our MC is rather dense), but possibilities are varied so even if you guess the 'big bad', there is still the mystery of why and how. The ending felt too chaotic and rushed at one point, but it evened out.
📺 I want this to be a mini-series. It reminded by of Bloodline on Netflix (vibes, not story).
🐺Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags🐕
😃 The present tense narration directed exclusively at the podcast host added to the creepy elements and drew me in from the first chapter. I did not want this book to end and there were multiple times where I thought "where could we possibly go from here?"
👍😃 If you aren't big into true crime I think this would still be an interesting story, but if you are a fan or regular consumer, it's enhanced by references to common tips and actual 'infamous' true crime cases paired with fictionalized ones that seemed so plausible I found myself looking them up. Each chapter starts with a blurb from a case that hints at the theme and event to come.
🥺 The character development (respectfully) plays in the area between highly sensitive neurodivergence and completely unhinged delusional danger. At first I was there for all the cringe Sera brings to the story but then I started to care for her. It isn't contrived or convenient, but she was still annoying so you may struggle with this if you don't like think-yelling things like "what is WRONG with you?!" and "No, no do NOT go over there and say those things!"
🤪 Creepy small town isolation with an odd family done right. Each character is 'off' in their own way and we go back and forth about trusting them and their explanations for what is going on. The isolation comes from not knowing where the safe spaces are anymore and being too invested to leave...but still being able to.
😳 I wish there was a ranch map at the start. The ranch has all these well drawn out regions where we spend a lot of time and I kept misplacing them in relation to others.
😍 The suspense comes from the eerie undercurrent, figuring out who to trust, getting invested along with the MC in what is going on and if anyone is even in danger and if so, who? There are times where nothing much happens but I love that in stories as long as it's used to build more suspense and mystery and is paired with good character, plot, or world development.
🤷♀️ This is the kind of story where you can predict what happened because we are consistently getting clues (and lets face it, our MC is rather dense), but possibilities are varied so even if you guess the 'big bad', there is still the mystery of why and how. The ending felt too chaotic and rushed at one point, but it evened out.
📺 I want this to be a mini-series. It reminded by of Bloodline on Netflix (vibes, not story).
Mood Reading Match Up:
- Plot and themes around true crime (podcasts and listeners) and domesticity
- Missing person that reads like a true crime case
- Slightly ‘off’ broken narrator + creepy everybody
- Eerie isolated small town and secretive ranch world building
- Stuck together/forced proximity romance
Content Heads-Up: Obsession. Mental Illness (anxiety, panic, sleep disorders). Gaslighting. Loneliness. Vomit. Animal death and cruelty. Sexual content (consenting). Alcohol use (self medicating, addiction). Childfree by choice rep. Car accident.
For animal death and cruelty:
For animal death and cruelty:
Spoiler
some of it is just what come from being surrounded by nature and living on a ranch with wild animals around, some of it is cat and horse murder, and the rest is cruelty where livestock are harmed because of human inaction to prevent itFormat: Paperback
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content and Car accident
zoelynn's review
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Vomit
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
briwithabook's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a really creepy and fast-paced book. I tore through it in 24 hours, because I couldn't wait to get to the end in the hopes of getting some answers about what was going on at the creepy, desolate ranch where the bulk of the story was located.
Sera is at a place in her life where she feels down, depressed and alone. The one person she really feels a connection to is Rachel, a true-crime podcast host (whom Sera has never met) that investigates the disappearances of women. When Rachel herself appears to go missing, Sera decides to go in search of answers.
I found the setting and characters in this one to definitely be eerie. It wasn't the kind of thriller that would make me scared to be alone in the house or to go to sleep, but it was definitely creepy enough to keep my interest to the point that I stayed up way too late reading it.
As someone who has had a lifelong interest in true-crime (and has spent the past several years listening to true-crime podcasts), I found the plot and format of this book to be really appealing. I liked that each chapter started with a snippet from a podcast episode, and that the chapters were short and quick to read. The story definitely kept me guessing, and while I had of course formed my own potential theories, I was never confident in them and they continually changed over the course of the book. I enjoy thrillers in which I do not guess the ending, and this one did not disappoint.
The only thing I will say is that the pacing could be improved. There were some sections of the book that felt a bit drawn out and overly detailed, and then the last section of the book felt like so much was crammed into a small part of the book. It didn't take away from the book, but was just something that I noticed. I suppose that can be true of a lot of thrillers, as the author doesn't want to give anything away too early - I just felt like maybe the last section was a bit rushed, after so much build up.
If you like thrillers and you are a fan of true-crime, I think you will find this an enjoyable read.
Sera is at a place in her life where she feels down, depressed and alone. The one person she really feels a connection to is Rachel, a true-crime podcast host (whom Sera has never met) that investigates the disappearances of women. When Rachel herself appears to go missing, Sera decides to go in search of answers.
I found the setting and characters in this one to definitely be eerie. It wasn't the kind of thriller that would make me scared to be alone in the house or to go to sleep, but it was definitely creepy enough to keep my interest to the point that I stayed up way too late reading it.
As someone who has had a lifelong interest in true-crime (and has spent the past several years listening to true-crime podcasts), I found the plot and format of this book to be really appealing. I liked that each chapter started with a snippet from a podcast episode, and that the chapters were short and quick to read. The story definitely kept me guessing, and while I had of course formed my own potential theories, I was never confident in them and they continually changed over the course of the book. I enjoy thrillers in which I do not guess the ending, and this one did not disappoint.
The only thing I will say is that the pacing could be improved. There were some sections of the book that felt a bit drawn out and overly detailed, and then the last section of the book felt like so much was crammed into a small part of the book. It didn't take away from the book, but was just something that I noticed. I suppose that can be true of a lot of thrillers, as the author doesn't want to give anything away too early - I just felt like maybe the last section was a bit rushed, after so much build up.
If you like thrillers and you are a fan of true-crime, I think you will find this an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Murder, and Animal death
Minor: Vomit and Miscarriage
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