lizziaha's review against another edition
3.0
Oddly enough, this was one of the (technically) best-written thrillers that I’ve read. And the book didn’t even feature any wildly problematic comments or inclusions, which seems to be prerequisite to the genre. So as much as I wanted to like it, I just thought it was boring. (One of the plot twists did have me gagged though—you ate that one little thing)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
gellyreads's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Very twisty, I didn't see a lot of it coming and I couldn't put it down. Maybe not the best mystery or extremely well written, as I wouldn't know - I was having too much fun reading it. I really didn't expect
Spoiler
Abby to be related to one of the Frat 4 for at all! Although Celeste was shady and the town.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gun violence, Abandonment, and Death
bringmybooks's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
How well can we ever really know the place that we live? Especially if we didn't grow up there?
B̷R̷I̷N̷G̷ ✨ 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 ✨ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
This was my third Megan Miranda book (in less than a week) and while it was my least favorite of the three, it was still worth the read and I would readily recommend it!
(For those wondering, thus far my favorites in order are The Only Survivors, All The Missing Girls, and then The Last to Vanish)
I love how Miranda plays with memory, first (and second, and third) impressions, and with unreliability in narration. This one didn't feel very taut or propulsive; it was more deliberate in the way that information about both characters and the town itself was parsed out. This worked for setting up the atmosphere, but in a way it kept me kind of removed from creating real attachments to the characters or their motivations.
I didn't see the end coming, and there was at least one jaw dropping moment - so for me, that works as far as what I'm looking for in a thriller!
B̷R̷I̷N̷G̷ ✨ 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 ✨ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
This was my third Megan Miranda book (in less than a week) and while it was my least favorite of the three, it was still worth the read and I would readily recommend it!
(For those wondering, thus far my favorites in order are The Only Survivors, All The Missing Girls, and then The Last to Vanish)
I love how Miranda plays with memory, first (and second, and third) impressions, and with unreliability in narration. This one didn't feel very taut or propulsive; it was more deliberate in the way that information about both characters and the town itself was parsed out. This worked for setting up the atmosphere, but in a way it kept me kind of removed from creating real attachments to the characters or their motivations.
I didn't see the end coming, and there was at least one jaw dropping moment - so for me, that works as far as what I'm looking for in a thriller!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Gun violence
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Grief
alisonfaith426's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Gun violence
Minor: Alcohol, Murder, Blood, Cursing, and Death
julienicole1106's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Grief, Drug use, Gun violence, and Murder
dalmavatai's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
2.5
The mystery was gripping with a great atmosphere and the book started off promising but slowly I began to not care about anything that was happening (which was mostly nothing). The characters were dull, the plot was incredibly slow, and though I didn't see the reveals coming and I thought they were decent, by that point I really didn't care. A shame because the mystery itself was actually pretty interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
theoceanrose's review against another edition
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Gun violence
Minor: Death of parent
javafenn's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
I love Megan Miranda! Her books are quick to get through but so juicy and fun. I love solving the mystery at hand and figuring out who did what. This book was especially fun because everyone had secrets and nothing was what you expected. I did figure out a killer but I was blindsided by another! Defiantly a good suspense read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking
thebakerbookworm's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book started out really slow—it was a good narration, it just felt like nothing was happening for the longest time. I would say it picked up about halfway through, and then it did get good. I guessed some things, other things I was blindsided by, and it had a good atmospheric setting. The plot was intriguing enough and I was curious to know what had happened to these people.
The characters...were interesting. I was never really able to get a good grasp on them. I think Abby does get some nice development, and other characters prove themselves to be complex, but no one was really likable. I remain uneasy (and in disagreement) with the decisions that characters make at the end of the book, particularly Abby. I guess I get what the author was doing, but I don't like it.
Anyways, I'd say it was a decent mystery read (not really a thriller, though I guess there are some thrills at the end), and it did entertain me, but it's not one I'll remember in the long-term.
Thank you to Libro.fm, Simon & Schuster Audio, and the author for my ALC.
The characters...were interesting. I was never really able to get a good grasp on them. I think Abby does get some nice development, and other characters prove themselves to be complex, but no one was really likable.
Spoiler
(And the one character I did like was Harris of course, who, well, if you've read the book, you know he turns out to not be so likable.)Anyways, I'd say it was a decent mystery read (not really a thriller, though I guess there are some thrills at the end), and it did entertain me, but it's not one I'll remember in the long-term.
Thank you to Libro.fm, Simon & Schuster Audio, and the author for my ALC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Death of parent and Blood
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