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renpuspita's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Honestly, from the vibes and story tones alone, Quiet is pretty much like Guild Hunter. Dysfunctional family and gritty environment that surrounded by a mystery. In contrast, if Guild Hunter is filled with fantasy settings, Quiet happen in your usual urban area with rich people that hide their scandals and malicious intents. Our narrator, Aarav Rai is an example of unreliable story teller, a self diagnosed sociopath that slowly succumb to uncertainty and become unhinged days by days while try to solve the mystery behind his mother's disappearance. Who's the killer of Nina Rai? Is it her husband, Ishaan Rai, a respectable CEO that she had toxic relationship with? One of their rich neighbor? A secretary that Ishaan banged at that time when Nina disappear and want to get Nina out from the house to become the next Mrs Rai? A close friend of Nina that decide to betray her? Or maybe, Aarav himself? Aarav, a devoted son with love and hate relationship for a mother that so clear live to her own way but become bitter through her marriage. Aarav, a multi-sensational thriller writer with a book that turned into movie, a book about a mother killed. Aarav, a man that found his brain slowly succumb to madness unknown, unhinged, filled with rage and uncertainty of his memories when his mother flee from their home 10 years ago because his brain decided to mess with him.
The start of this book is pretty slow and the introduction of Aarav neighbor in the rich community, the Cul-de-Sac, can be pretty confusing. I feel difficult to memorize who is who, since Aarav know them all and begin to suspect is one of them a culprit responsible for his mother's death. The ensemble cast remind me of Agatha Christie's mysteries that also have big cast in which if you don't focused enough, you will get lost. The things is, I can't help to compare Quiet's big casts to another Nalini's series. I can remember all of the member of Cadre of Ten and their territories, maybe because I'm curious about them and want to know more. But, in case of Aarav's neighbor, doctors or his ex-gf, I just got lost. I don't feel these want to connect with them. Maybe, this is deliberate, since I can feel Aarav's aloofness and his unhinged characterization so I don't feel this closeness to other characters. Sometimes I feel like the characters introduction in the start of the book will help me to memorize the characters.
The mystery while solid, its conclusion in the end feel pretty easy although still enjoyable to read. I appreciate Nalini Singh to throw some red herring in order to make the mystery not that easy to predict. All Aarav's neighbors hide their scandals closed to themselves, only to be peeled layer by layer later, following the story. Aarav himself is not that likable but I can understand him. I mean, he's not that bad and I still enjoy his voice. Some of the revelation regarding about his relationship with his mother, his father, and his ex-GF is pretty shocking and I think it's work because of the 1st PoV and the fact that Aarav can't be trusted that much. There's a tongue-in-cheek part about Aarav burn bad review about his book, rather than he confront the reviewer itself. I just chuckling and wondering if Nalini also do it herself? While the story feel unsettling and chilling, I like that Nalini still try to write Aarav as a big brother figure to his step-sister, Pari and also have a good relationship with his step-mother, Shanti. If you search for romance, I'm afraid, there's none.
Quiet in Her Bones is Nalini's first thriller (and there's no romance too!) that I had read and I will check out her other thriller as well. Although, this book have so many trigger warning (like toxic relationship and domestic abuses), so you might want to read this one with cautions.
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
leahkarge's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
wonderfulxwonderful's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death
lilifane's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
It seemed so simple and straight forward at the beginning and developed into this huge, confusing mess, and I loved every bit of it. I kept guessing, and I kept second-guessing, and for me the conclusion was really satisfying. It is a very slow-paced book with a huge cast of characters, but the writing was so good, it kept me hooked until the very last page. Loved the diversity and the setting in New Zealand, specifically in this secluded rich people neighborhood where everyone is keeping secrets. The interactions between the neighbors gave me life, and the protagonist was... something!
It's probably too much to ask for a mini series adaptation? It's just so many of those scenes were SO vivid, I could practically see them played out in my head.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Drug use, Homophobia, Blood, Dementia, and Car accident
nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Dementia
stephbakerbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
- diverse cast of characters, connected together by living in the same neighborhood
- New Zealand setting
- short chapters
- questioning everything and everyone
- the twists at the end
- Pari
Things I didn't like:
- all the characters except for Pari
- takes a while to remember who is who, because there are so many characters (even by the end, a name would be mentioned and I would think, "Wait who was that again?")
- the pacing felt off to me in places (there would be a tension-filled moment and then the next chapter would act like that moment hadn't just happened)
- the ending felt rushed; nothing was happening and then a lot happened in the span of a few pages and then it was done
Overall, a decent mystery that kept me guessing, but the unlikable characters and lack of any real character development kept me from rating this higher.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicide, Medical content, and Murder
sarahasyouwish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
cursedepub's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
One thing that definitely detracted from my enjoyment of the novel is how egregious the sexually objectifying male gaze was in the narration. I think genuinely every woman above the age of 18 in the novel was described in terms of her sexuality and/or physical attributes, to a degree I found gross and uncomfortable.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use