Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

That Weekend by Kara Thomas

15 reviews

fictionaladventures's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? No

2.0

I wanted a fun mystery/thriller, and that’s not at all what I got. If you read this, go in prepared for it to be way more serious than that. It’s way more of a heavy drama than anything fun like I wanted.

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themoodreader's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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_chelseachelsea's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Something I really like about Kara Thomas is her skill for pacing. Many thrillers unfold too slowly - dragging out the mystery until the last possible second, then rushing through the explanation like a Bond villain - or too quickly, in a way that feels unrealistic and overly convenient. This was my second Thomas novel (the first being The Cheerleaders) and I continue to be impressed by the way she manages to balance tension with realism. That Weekend feels like a play, with a first act that lays out just enough information to draw you in, a second act that unravels with impeccable timing, and a finale that delivers satisfying answers. While the mystery isn’t necessarily jaw-droppingly clever or unique, I don’t think that’s a weakness. In fact, I‘m finding more and more as I read thriller after thriller that a believable story is infinitely harder to pull off than a ridiculous one.

For most of the book, I had a 4.25-4.5 star rating in mind. I loved the narrator, Claire, who we follow as she struggles to recall the events that led her to be found bloody and concussed on a mountain she doesn’t remember stepping foot on. Claire is smart, but stubborn. She is petty, but she cares. She feels like a real teenager, on the cusp of adulthood and unsure of who she wants to be. When her life is toppled by trauma her response to it feels true, not contrived, and when she starts digging for answers it’s not because she’s a scrappy hometown hero with a sudden burst of detective skills - it’s because she cannot move forward from her own grief without the answers she thinks will resolve it. Again, Thomas demonstrates a real understanding of loss.

The one complaint I have, which ultimately caused me to drop my rating to a 4.0, is that while the finale does give a satisfying resolution to the story - without tying it up too neatly in a way that feels cheap - there are a few “bonus” twists that I felt warranted more attention. One of my biggest pet peeves in a thriller or mystery is when a plot point feels rushed or thrown in at the last minute. By the time these shockers are dropped on us, the pages are drawing to a close. There’s no time to explore the meaning or impact of them. I found it frustrating that by the time we were really getting to learn more about these other characters, our time with them was over.

Outside of that peeve, That Weekend is an excellent novel about guilt, grief, and the burden of secrets - even the ones we must keep to protect ourselves.

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igre's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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bibliorama's review

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Enjoyment - 4.5
The audiobook narrator was quite good and brought a lot of emotion to the performance. I also liked the look at grief this book brings. Some of the tropes this book covers is memory loss, friends go missing in the woods during a camping trip, complicated friend dynamics.

Start - 5
We start out with our mc not remembering anything, and where she is initially found adds a lot of tension to the plot. There is a sense of threat to her, but based on her not being able to remember anything the feeling lingers.

Characters - 4
These were pretty rounded characters for ya mystery -- and I only say that not to rag on ya, but because right after this I read 5 Total Strangers. Now that was the opposite of well-rounded. Without giving away spoilers, I felt for the main character and by the end was like girl it's time for you to move on and find some new friends.

Atmosphere - 2.75
This was the lowest score simply because it felt like this plot could have happened anywhere, and there isn't anything super specific about the location or vibe that makes it stand out. Which is fine. The story was still enjoyable without that.

Plot - 4
There were some twists that I could see coming, but they were still executed well. And, there were some twists that I didn't guess entirely. How the main character found clues also felt natural and not out of thin air.

Ending - 3.75
I liked the final conflict between the mc and a few other characters. It didn't go down how I was expecting and yet it felt real to who the characters are. I think there was room for this story to push the thriller parts even further to make the stakes rise higher.

Style - 4
Easy and digestible without being too simple.

Overall - a solid 4

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pollyhall's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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nicoleherz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Family secrets, muddled memory mystery, how far would you go to escape?

Practically read it in one sitting, a really gripping story. I liked the writing and how the author gave the characters a lot of depth and unseen facets to their personalities and relationships.
Some twists were a little predictable but some of them were a total surprise!! Loved that

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