Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards

8 reviews

annamwallace66's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

shmayjoy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

This novel reminds me of every awful time I've ever had to sleep under a charging station in an airport. If, like past me and a million other traveling students, you have ever had to face the usual miserable "delayed due to a blizzard" winter break lay overs, you can easily slide into the protagonist's shoes...even if you would never accept the ride she decided on.
Five Perfect Strangers takes an ordinary teen who needs to get home to her mom for the holidays, and the four college students heading the same direction. Richards throws us into the back roads of Pennsylvania to remind us not to trust a person solely by their appearance.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

ellie_girl2929's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

(First thriller I read) This book is out of my comfort zone and I’m glad I read it. I felt very involved in the book trying to help with the clues and determine who was the stalker in the book. I never would have guessed who it ended up being though I had a clue. The book felt very adventurous and inviting and I couldn’t put the book down even as I was falling asleep reading it. Would def recommend for new readers for thrillers. Taking a minute to think after, I realized that I hated the ending (loved the beginning/middle)it felt really rushed and had potential for a great ending it was predictable in the beginning and overall could have been better but it’s a great starter book for readers trying new genres (like me)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Blood

Minor: Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, and Car accident

snoopyfanclub's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Vomit, and Kidnapping

bzliz's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

A bad snowstorm grounds all flights and five strangers rent a car to try to get home. But are they all trying to get home? Are they all strangers? A series of misfortunes befall the group- Mira, Harper, Josh, Brecken & Kayla- as roads turn bad, narrowly avoiding massive accidents, personal items going missing, and danger lurking in the car just as much as outside. 

I listened to this audiobook after previously DNFing a physical copy and I think that’s a good way to do thrillers. It felt much more suspenseful hearing someone else read it. It has a good mix of suspense and creepiness for someone looking to dip their toes into the thriller genre. There are enough suspects that you can second guess your instincts about who Mira’s stalker is right up until the end and it doesn’t come off as cheap or unsatisfying. 

I did say that I don’t find the characters lovable, nor do I think there’s strong character development or that their flaws are a focus but that’s fine for a thriller. The plot is the main focus and although Mira does do some introspection at the end, it’s not enough for me to call it strong character development. 

If you’re feeling anxious about reading and want to know whodunnit in advance, click here for spoilers of the ending:

Josh is the stalker and attempted kidnapper/killer. He became obsessed with Mira after buying her a cup of coffee the day her aunt died and wrote her a bunch of stalker letters that she never got.  He enlists Kayla to help him by stealing her drugs which almost works. In the end, Mira manages to get away after Kayla pushes her down a hill and Josh comes after her with a knife. Brecken hits the stalker in the head with a shovel and kills him.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

_savannahreads_'s review against another edition

adventurous slow-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? No

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, and Gaslighting

lanidon's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a pretty dang good thriller! It keeps the tension high all the way throughout which is rare. I had to put the book down and take a walk a few times because it was getting too intense. My only complaint is the ending wrapped up a little too neatly and there are some painfully obvious life lessons shoved in. It feels just a smidge like an after school special at the end, which is why I dropped to 4 stars. I'll definitely be checking out now from this author

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Grief

Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Drug use, Physical abuse, Blood, and Kidnapping