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ktrecs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Blood, Trafficking, and Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Suicide
happiestwhenreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.0
This was my first book by Christina McDonald so I can’t compare this to her other work. All of my thoughts are my first impressions of her and her writing. I want to start by saying that this book has A LOT going on in it – parent loss, sick child, addiction, an opioid crisis, and several murder investigations. It kind of felt like she threw a whole bunch of things into one story – and it was just kind of a lot. I didn’t love it. It felt like McDonald couldn’t really focus on a cohesive plot because she had so many plot lines to connect and tie together.
Having said that, I was compelled to read it in a day. I wanted to know what was happening and who was responsible! McDonald actually did a pretty good job keeping it all together and I think I only remember one thing that kind of didn’t make sense and got overlooked. But just because she did a good job keeping it all together doesn’t mean it worked well for me. Some of the twists irritated me and frustrated me. I didn’t love how it ended and it felt sort of like a cop out.
This book did remind me why thrillers work for me – they’re generally quick reads, and because it’s not my favorite genre, I feel like I am able to just throw myself into the story regardless of it’s overall impact. I’m in the middle of five different books right now – none of which are quick or easy – so this was a great escape for me right now.
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Drug use, and Medical content
Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
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