Reviews with content warning for Mass/school shootings - Come with me

This book was a fine read. I agree with other reviewers that it's mostly misclassified -- more thriller than horror for sure. I didn't dislike the supernatural elements (though there weren't very many), and I didn't dislike the ending. I just wasn't super in love with the way everything came together. (I also hate an unnecessary sex scene -- this one was Not Helpful In Any Way for plot or character development, and didn't mesh with the rest of the book at all.) I did like the book, but I went into it wanting to like it a lot more than I ended up doing.

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lolaslalaland's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

I was first blown away by Ronald Malfi's writing when I read December Park. He has a way of creating such vivid atmospheres, substantial characters and meaningful stories. So, I bought all this books... Don't look at me like that.

Anyway, this is the second book I have read by him now, and wow. Just wow. This was such a slow and heavy book - definitely not for the faint of heart. A kind of horror that isn't about shock value, or the super crazy twist, or the bloody gory bits. It's about disturbing you down to your core and potentially tapping a part of you you're too scared to look into. Do you really know the people in your life? What secrets could they be keeping from you? Why do we move on from tragic events so quickly? How to we handle grief?

This was a phenomenal book and I highly recommend it for any fans of the horror genre. My only critique is that it is pretty lengthy and could have been cut down a little bit, but that was just my own experience at times. At the end of the day, this book was also about the author's journey through grief. If you are interested in reading the book, definitely take the time to read the short author's note at the end. It brings in a whole new perspective to the story and the author's drive to write this particular story.

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aparker89's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

An unexpected mystery following the tragic death of his wife, what was she hiding? Turns out that dear Aaron had NO idea who his wife really was and I couldn't help but carry on the journey with him to find out WHO she was and WHAT she was up to! Her presence is haunting him every step of the way as he travels all over the east coast connecting the dots but in the end, who are we really haunting but ourselves?
This thriller definitely keeps you on your toes and keeps you wanting. I did not like how the BIG mystery was resolved. It seemed so disconnected from the entire rest of the story and I definitely feel like it could have been done better using a character who we already knew was deeply intertwined. Honestly felt like a cop-out. The end of the last chapter WAS beautiful and wrapped up that plot line well. Overall I will be reading more Ronald Malfi BUT I'm glad this wasn't his first work that I read, otherwise it might have been my last.

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