atalea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Grief, and Dementia
Moderate: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Murder, Death, Infidelity, and Suicide
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, Infertility, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, and Panic attacks/disorders
lottiebrooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
-0.5 stars because the flashback case was SO similar to
Spoiler
JonBenet Ramsey’s story that it took a lot of the suspense out of it for me. I was left underwhelmed by the story playing out the same way as all the conspiracy theories about her case. That said, you can tell the author knows about realistic outcomes in this arena.-1 Because, like everyone else, the ending took away from an otherwise powerful ending.
Spoiler
To be in the corner of a character the whole time, and be excited that they “won”, just to not know if they died at the end/if their uncle with dementia is now alone is so weird to me. 4 more pages and I would have considered a 5 on this book.Graphic: Pedophilia, Child death, Murder, and Dementia
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Drug abuse and Animal cruelty
honeysidehomestead's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Child death and Child abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
stephanieluxton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Pedophilia, Blood, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Stalking
Minor: Animal cruelty, Violence, Suicide, Sexual content, and Animal death
macykey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Drug use, and Animal cruelty
lwelch94's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Pedophilia, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
sjpate14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Animal cruelty
wheeliechick's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Dementia, and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual assault
Minor: Miscarriage
ittybittycowboy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Child death and Pedophilia
Minor: Animal cruelty
jesslaurenbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I felt like this book was written tactfully and brilliantly, despite its heavy subject matter. This book focuses on crimes against children, so I've included trigger warnings (that I know of) at the end of my review before reading as there are quite a few. The story jumps back and forth, mostly from Margot in 2019 to Krissy in 1994. If you're a <i> Crime Junkie </i> like me, you'll love the way it feels like you're unraveling the story along with Margot. Knowing what it's like first-hand, this is also a really realistic view into what it's like when someone in your family is fading from dementia. It was brutal to experience that with Margot. It's really easy to root for Margot being down on her luck and wanting to help out her uncle, and I think that's what makes this story so good. I'm very much a character girlie, but many crime thrillers are so focused on plot they end up having less compelling characters. This was not the case here, which is why I rated it so highly. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, the rug got pulled from under me for a gut-wrenching ending.
Trigger warnings: mentions of child SA, Murder of a child, self-harm, mentions of suicide
<b> Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this Advanced Reader's Copy in exchange for my fair and honest review. This title will be available on August 16th. </b>
Moderate: Mental illness, Dementia, Self harm, and Child death
Minor: Suicide, Self harm, Animal cruelty, and Animal death