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stumpymcknob's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
An exploration of what parents are capable of doing out of desperation to protect and serve their children.
The first half of the book was gripping and had me on the edge of my seat, eager to find out what was really going on as the circumstances surrounding Olivia's disappearance seemed to get stranger and stranger.
The story is told from the perspective of multiple characters, which I feel can be difficult for an author to make work if their characters' voices aren't distinct. There isn't much by way of character development in this book as it is very much plot-driven. The different perspectives flit between tenses and first and third person perspective, which made the story a little confusing and hard to follow at times.
There are lots of twists and turns as one might expect for a crime thriller. Some are more predictable than others. It has a rather pat, neatly wrapped up ending which left me feeling somewhat dissatisfied. I didn't really care enough for DCI Day to learn thateverything worked out alright for her in the end.
It was fine. I won't be rushing to read anything else by McAllister, but I didn't mind this for this month's book club read.
The first half of the book was gripping and had me on the edge of my seat, eager to find out what was really going on as the circumstances surrounding Olivia's disappearance seemed to get stranger and stranger.
The story is told from the perspective of multiple characters, which I feel can be difficult for an author to make work if their characters' voices aren't distinct. There isn't much by way of character development in this book as it is very much plot-driven. The different perspectives flit between tenses and first and third person perspective, which made the story a little confusing and hard to follow at times.
There are lots of twists and turns as one might expect for a crime thriller. Some are more predictable than others. It has a rather pat, neatly wrapped up ending which left me feeling somewhat dissatisfied. I didn't really care enough for DCI Day to learn that
It was fine. I won't be rushing to read anything else by McAllister, but I didn't mind this for this month's book club read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Trafficking
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
A semi-predictable thriller. I had hoped to enjoy this more than the other book of hers I read, and I did but it still wasn't spectacular. I likely won't pick up a book of hers again, as I don't enjoy them that much. I found the villain to be easy to spot.
The characters were quite unlikeable and hard to sympathize with. This made it harder to enjoy the book.
The writing did keep me engaged and there were some twists I didn't see coming.
Narrator(s) Rating: 4.5 stars
All the narrators did an excellent job, though the one who did Emma's voice was a bit flat. They were the only reason I bothered to finish the book.
The characters were quite unlikeable and hard to sympathize with. This made it harder to enjoy the book.
The writing did keep me engaged and there were some twists I didn't see coming.
Narrator(s) Rating: 4.5 stars
All the narrators did an excellent job, though the one who did Emma's voice was a bit flat. They were the only reason I bothered to finish the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Misogyny, Suicide, Police brutality, Trafficking, Alcohol, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
abicaro17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A tale of a missing girl, corruption, and parents who love their kids. This story follows Julia, a detective investigating a a girl who vanished in a dead end alleyway, Lewis, a father who's daughter is missing, and Emma, who's son is a suspect. I have only read Wrong Place Wrong Time by this author but, like that book this is incredibly well thought out and mysterious. It is incredibly slow in the middle. The fact that the only povs are of the parents of the main characters in this mystery makes it hard to connect to the actual story. It's also a tad hard to like any of them. I think the last 25% was much more intriguing than the first 75%.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bookishchaos's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Mixed feelings about this one... Some of the twists were really good, but the overall conclusion to the story was messy. I liked it until 70%, then I was over it. When it was revealed what was going on, I was like "really? that's it?".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Murder
Moderate: Trafficking and Stalking
Minor: Infidelity
bekah1210's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Grief, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity and Trafficking
alisonannk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Deportation
bringmybooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to Edelweiss, William Morrow, & HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.
✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
HI HEY HELLO I NEED YOU TO KNOW THIS WAS FAB
Okay, so I picked up Wrong Place Wrong Time last year at a crazy going out of business sale (it was like $4 for the HC, how can you go wrong?) and read it shortly thereafter - read it, devoured it, tomato, tomatoh, what have you. I have recommended that book to SO many people since reading it and I’m so stoked to say that I will be recommending this one just as much!
It took me a tiny little bit to get fully sunk into the story and kind of understand how the different POVs connected (and one of my hunches was correct which obvs made me feel like a genius), but once I did I was HOOKED. The plot itself was ingenious (similar to Wrong Place Wrong Time!) and I loved how it all came together.
This is also one of those books that, while not what you would necessarily consider for a book club, would be PERFECT for the occasion. There is a lot to unpack/unravel here and I cannot wait for other people to read this in August so I can talk to them about it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Infidelity
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Deportation