lomahongva's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment and Vomit
uchihas'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? It's complicated
2.0
i honestly never expect anything from the books i'm reading, but especially when the recommendations come from tiktok. i'd heard people rave about this one and despite not expecting anything i was still disappointed. i kept waiting for something interesting to happen. the protagonist is insufferable. absolutely could not stand him. the ONLY plus sides were that the minor characters weren't too bad, and there was a cat who stays safe and sound throughout the entire novel. 2 stars for the cat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Addiction
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Grief, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia
Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Stalking, Vomit, Car accident, Cursing, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts
novi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
3.0
I enjoyed it. It's not a fast action-packed thriller, but I'd say it's a pretty cozy read because it's set in the winter time, there are a lot of talks about mystery books in it, it's also set in a book store, and it's not very suspenseful. I never really felt that the stakes were high, even after we know the villain. So yes for me it's a bit anti-climatic, but it makes a pretty cozy read (and I already watched a review that said that the villain wouldn't be satisfying, so my hopes were not high). I recommend this for mystery book lovers just for all the books discussions and homages in this book.
But let me rant a bit here:
I think it's worth repeating that this book spoils the plot of many mystery/thriller books, beside the "eight perfect murders", there were also other books that were spoiled here, so make sure to do some googling about it if you don't wanna get spoiled.
But let me rant a bit here:
Spoiler
I already guessed the killer before it was revealed because even after 70% of the book, there is still no other character introduced. There is no way the killer would be someone that wasn't introduced to the readers. There's Tessa, but she's too unlikely. Gwen was already so weird since the beginning but she's also very unlikely. And our main character was already quite sinister so I wasn't surprised when he revealed that he also killed his wife. And I didn't even care about his wife!! So when he revealed that, as if he was hoping he'd be seen as the supervillain, I was just like, "okay..."I think it's worth repeating that this book spoils the plot of many mystery/thriller books, beside the "eight perfect murders", there were also other books that were spoiled here, so make sure to do some googling about it if you don't wanna get spoiled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Death
Moderate: Car accident, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Vomit
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