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afroheaux's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I never managed to connect with this book, but I wanted to finish it out of spite. It seems like this author threw a lot of elements at the wall to see if they could stick. You can tell she’s definitely a good descriptive writer from the prose but it felt purple at most parts. Since it’s a mystery, I’m sure every background character was given extreme detail to throw the reader off the trail of the killer. It just made the book confusing and hard to push through.
It reminded me of Dark Places by Gillian Flynn due to the unreliable and “unlikeable” narrator, but I actually didn’t really like the MC. His whole angry, manipulative streak was not endearing and he seemed full of himself. I wasn’t rooting for anyone in the book. Most characters served no purpose and I didn’t know who they were most of the time or their purpose in the story. The resolution of the main conflict of the entire story doesn’t even get covered in the epilogue and even then, it’s like an afterthought. I wasn’t thrilled or excited by this book, just wanted it to end so I could find out what happened to Nina, but jury’s still out on whether that was worth it or not.
It reminded me of Dark Places by Gillian Flynn due to the unreliable and “unlikeable” narrator, but I actually didn’t really like the MC. His whole angry, manipulative streak was not endearing and he seemed full of himself. I wasn’t rooting for anyone in the book. Most characters served no purpose and I didn’t know who they were most of the time or their purpose in the story. The resolution of the main conflict of the entire story doesn’t even get covered in the epilogue and even then, it’s like an afterthought. I wasn’t thrilled or excited by this book, just wanted it to end so I could find out what happened to Nina, but jury’s still out on whether that was worth it or not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment
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