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yetilibrary's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Three stars for being engaging, and for having >= 1 interesting character. Lost some points for having some very dull characters (boy, those sections dragged). The ending felt rushed and maybe even a little cheap, somehow, but I will say right now that I think my opinion about the ending is wrong and I'm just being petulant.
I will give another of Swanson's books a shot to see if I like it better. This one felt like he had a manuscript due and had to get it done. It also felt like he wanted to do an homage to Patricia Highsmith (that's clear from the very beginning: it's a Chekhov's Gun but Highsmith!) and maybe had to rush it. That may have affected my rating--you can't out-Highsmith Highsmith, and we all pale in comparison.
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Murder
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
blackferrum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
My first english book! Kesannya nano-nano dan terutama ternyata bisa selesai juga. Bukan karena unsur ceritanya yang nggak bagus, tapi karena beberapa kali tersendat. Yah, ini pengalaman pertama dan nggak yakin mau nulis reviu apa. Jujur, hampir 30% aku skimming (bagian-bagian deskripsi tempat atau lingkungan sekitar) dan aku baru sadar selama baca ini nggak merasa yakin reading comprehession-ku bagus.
Jadi, inti ceritanya Lily bertemu dengan Ted di bandara London. Mereka ngobrol di bar dan Ted mengungkapkan keinginannya buat bunuh istrinya. Aneh mungkin karena kok bisa ngaku sama orang asing dia punya keinginan buat bunuh, istrinya sendiri pula. Tapi, Lily menganggapi itu dengan serius. Dia mengungkapkan beberapa gagasan selama di bar dan lanjut ke penerbangan. Setelah itu, mereka putus kontak beberapa hari dan nggak yakin gimana mau menghubungi Lily lagi, Ted pergi ke tempat kerja Lily yang udah dikasih tahu waktu mereka ngomongin soal dugaan perselingkuhan istri Ted, Miranda, dan kontraktor rumah barunya, Brad.
Long story short, rencananya udah matang. Well, nggak seratus persen, sih, tapi setidaknya Ted udah ngelakuin beberapa hal yang disarankan Lily. Nah, di sini alurnya berubah dan makin intens menuju konfliknya.
Buku ini pakai sudut pandang orang pertama dan bikin makin paham gimana kepribadian para karakternya, tapi nggak semua, hanya ada pov Lily, Ted, Miranda, dan Kimball. Ada 3 bagian yang menandai kalau alur dan pemain utama udah berubah. Aku nggak bisa jelasin karena bakal berpotensi spoiler. Karakter yang paling banyak dapat porsi itu Lily, mungkin karena dia tokoh utama di sini jadi diceritakan mengenai masa lalunya, jauh sebelum dia kenalan sama Ted. Mulai dari remaja sampai kehidupannya ketika kuliah. Bagian Miranda, Ted, dan Kimball berputar di masa sekarang dan nggak bisa kasih banyak petunjuk di awal.
Oh, salah satu karakter jadi salah satu katalis (dan benang merah) di cerita ini, sih, jadi jangan heran dulu hubungannya masa lalu Lily dengan rencana pembunuhan yang dia rancang untuk istri Ted itu apa. Plot twist-nya nggak wow banget, tapi tetap bikin excited. Bagiku sih, malah seneng karena akhirnya tahu kenapa Lily mau susah-susah kasih saran pembunuhan ke orang asing macam Ted.
Bagian yang aku kurang sreg itu kepribadian para karakter, salah satunya si Kimball. Aku bingung, kenapa dia dituduh punya obsesi stalking padahal dia bener-bener punya porsi di bagian ketiga dan itu cuma sedikit omong-omong, masih banyak bagian dua dan pertama. Yang pasti, karakter Kimball sendiri kayak baru muncul, belum terlalu familiar.
Plus si Kimball ini duh, apa deh, hopeless romantic banget orangnya. Bukannya anti atau sinis, ya, cuman apa ya kenapa dia nih dikit-dikit dikaitkan sama perasaan, gampang baper gitulah. No, aku bukannya nggak setuju cowok baper, tapi Kimball ini emang lain dan agak berlebihan sih, apalagi untuk ukuran karakter pendukung yang baru nongol dan dapat bagian menjelang akhir-akhir cerita. Brad juga sebenernya sama sih, hampir. Tipe yang gampang kepincut sama segg dan pesona cewek, tapi si Brad lebih condong ke finansial, maybe?
Bagian pembunuhan di buku ini kesannya kayak gampang banget. Beneran gampang banget, lho, bahkan kayak semesta mendukung apa yang dilakuin sama si pembunuh. Heran juga, sih, kenapa bisa begitu, ya. Lebih less drama dan well, nggak tau deh, kenapa aku malah bingung dikasih alur yang beda gini wkwkwk.
Agak belibet, tapi bacaan yang menarik. Lumayan lah.
Graphic: Infidelity, Pedophilia, and Murder
kirahaycock21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Death of parent and Outing
Moderate: Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, and Alcohol
gabforshort's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Infidelity and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Stalking
vanessagrausam'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
4.5
Graphic: Infidelity and Murder
Minor: Stalking
kaynova's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
from the beginning to the end, i wanted lily to never get caught. i support women's rights and wrongs
(and me, being so queer, i kind of wished miranda and lily became a thing, but we digress)
Graphic: Infidelity and Murder
froggydanny's review against another edition
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
kimberlyswalters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content and Stalking
literally_mint's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol