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justnei's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
xx_coco's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was my second Ruth Ware book, and a much better experience than reading In A Dark, Dark Wood. When members of a tech company called Snoop are snowed in by an avalanche during a staff outing, secrets and old grudges come to light. During the destruction of the avalanche, one of the Snoopers goes missing and is presumed to be dead. Tensions rise as the group begins to wonder if it was a freak accident, or if there is a killer amongst them.
The first half of this book was painfully slow, and the multiple points of view didn't work to further the plot until the last half of the story. For the most part, it was just little snippets of what everyone was thinking about the drama of a potential merger until after the avalanche happens. It felt like it served mostly as an introduction to all of the characters so we have an idea of them before the conclusion of the novel, when those individual points of view actually matter in relation to the mystery. Most of the characters were pretty insufferable, with the exception of Erin and Danny, who were the only two not involved with Snoop.
It was pretty easy to work out the "who" in this book fairly early on, but the motivation for the murders comes much later during the extremely tense last quarter of the story when all of the pieces fall into place. The feelings of isolation do a lot of work to create a fearful and anxious atmosphere where anyone would feel a bit helpless. The last bit of this book redeemed quite a few of its earlier flaws, this is when the multiple points of view really works for this book and creates tension you could cut with a knife.
I'm not sure diving further into each of the individual characters would have fixed the issues I had with this one. It may have helped create some ambiguity so the killer wasn't as obvious so soon though. It's more of a personal comment, not an objective one, but the idea of Snoop did annoy me and the follower counts for each POV change was repetitive. Overall, I enjoyed this read well enough and it's a good atmospheric choice for the colder months.
The first half of this book was painfully slow, and the multiple points of view didn't work to further the plot until the last half of the story. For the most part, it was just little snippets of what everyone was thinking about the drama of a potential merger until after the avalanche happens. It felt like it served mostly as an introduction to all of the characters so we have an idea of them before the conclusion of the novel, when those individual points of view actually matter in relation to the mystery. Most of the characters were pretty insufferable, with the exception of Erin and Danny, who were the only two not involved with Snoop.
It was pretty easy to work out the "who" in this book fairly early on, but the motivation for the murders comes much later during the extremely tense last quarter of the story when all of the pieces fall into place. The feelings of isolation do a lot of work to create a fearful and anxious atmosphere where anyone would feel a bit helpless. The last bit of this book redeemed quite a few of its earlier flaws, this is when the multiple points of view really works for this book and creates tension you could cut with a knife.
I'm not sure diving further into each of the individual characters would have fixed the issues I had with this one. It may have helped create some ambiguity so the killer wasn't as obvious so soon though. It's more of a personal comment, not an objective one, but the idea of Snoop did annoy me and the follower counts for each POV change was repetitive. Overall, I enjoyed this read well enough and it's a good atmospheric choice for the colder months.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Sexual assault, and Blood
Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
lisasf2f04's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence