Reviews

Coco Weber returns to Catalina Island to care for her aunt, after having been gone for years after a horrific family tragedy on the island. She starts a new job writing obituaries for the island newspaper and tries to recover from the dissolution of her marriage. As she re-adjusts to island life on the cusp of the Covid outbreak, she realizes there are still secrets on the island. The book started off great and I was really interested to see what would happen. But I didn't like her aunt, didn't much like her boss, didn't like most of the characters on the island. And then the plot got convoluted and quite slow. On the plus side, I got to learn more about an area I didn't know anything about before.

the_resistance_book_club's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

allykonkol19's review against another edition

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3.0

Coco is the sole survivor of a home invasion/murder that took her parents and younger brother on Catalina Island. After the ending of her marriage with a manipulative ex, Coco leaves LA and returns to Catalina Island for the first time in 20 years, since the murder of her family and moves into the home they were intended to live in before their untimely deaths. The house had previously been occupied by Coco’s Aunt, who is not at all happy for Coco to be moving back in. Colette begins working at the local paper, owned by her college roommate Maddy, and begins to uncover what she thinks is a serial killer targeting old women. Shortly after, Coco begins receiving threats to her and her aunt, trying to run them out of her familial house. The author utilizes the outbreak of Covid to help isolate the island and keep Coco, from escaping the constant threats to her and her Aunt, which I felt didn’t really lend much to the story. There were several plot points that incorporated the virus; like when Coco goes to the store and they mention all the Lysol is gone, that I felt added little to advancing the story. I do, understand how it was necessary to enhance the feeling of isolation for Colette. The book explores race, community that isn’t what it seems, and duplicitous friendships. The plot line felt reminiscent of Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” and was pretty predictable. I clocked where the threats and who was killing the old ladies pretty immediately. Overall it was ok, and a quick thriller to get through.

remigves's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

abuchanan's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.0

kpeck283's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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