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cazab22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
2.75
whendevreads's review
3.0
** Actual rating is 3.5 stars **
This is the first thriller/suspense/etc book I have read in a loooong time. I am a big true crime girlie, I used to listen to a serial killer podcast driving home at night. As well, I have been meaning to read “I’ll be Gone in the Dark,” about the Golden State Killer — a story I am now realizing likely inspired this one, as genealogy is what led to the apprehension of the serial killer decades later.
I think the premise is extremely interesting; adoptee takes a genetics test for health reasons and has an FBI agent show up at her door to tell her she’s somehow related to a serial killer. As someone who has taken one of those genetics tests, I would just die if I found out one of my relatives was a serial killer — I actually would probably do some nosing around myself, just like Ivy.
I think the book dragged a little bit. There were multiple times I considered DNFing because there just simply wasn’t anything going on. I was getting confused between Ivy’s POV, Tatum’s POV (is it normal to get a victims POV??), and then this Sampson character. Honestly, I don’t think Sampson’s POV was needed, like at all. It was incredibly confusing; I guess that was the point, maybe, to throw us off of the Big Reveal. But, in my opinion, there wasn’t enough for us to connect his POV to who he was supposed to be in the rest of the story. As well, I guessed the big plot twist super early in the book, I would say maybe 50% in. As well, I think the Big Reveal of the killer was somewhat predictable, but at the same time not — I think I absolutely had 2 people that were the biggest suspects in my mind, but how they were connected or the actual intricacies of how things happened were still up in the air.
All in all, for my first dive into the thriller/suspense genre in quite a while, this was a good read. I believe I received it as a part of the Amazon Prime Monthly First Reads! So, I am happy to see that it was a good pick.
spice level: N/A
This is the first thriller/suspense/etc book I have read in a loooong time. I am a big true crime girlie, I used to listen to a serial killer podcast driving home at night. As well, I have been meaning to read “I’ll be Gone in the Dark,” about the Golden State Killer — a story I am now realizing likely inspired this one, as genealogy is what led to the apprehension of the serial killer decades later.
I think the premise is extremely interesting; adoptee takes a genetics test for health reasons and has an FBI agent show up at her door to tell her she’s somehow related to a serial killer. As someone who has taken one of those genetics tests, I would just die if I found out one of my relatives was a serial killer — I actually would probably do some nosing around myself, just like Ivy.
I think the book dragged a little bit. There were multiple times I considered DNFing because there just simply wasn’t anything going on. I was getting confused between Ivy’s POV, Tatum’s POV (is it normal to get a victims POV??), and then this Sampson character. Honestly, I don’t think Sampson’s POV was needed, like at all. It was incredibly confusing; I guess that was the point, maybe, to throw us off of the Big Reveal. But, in my opinion, there wasn’t enough for us to connect his POV to who he was supposed to be in the rest of the story. As well, I guessed the big plot twist super early in the book, I would say maybe 50% in. As well, I think the Big Reveal of the killer was somewhat predictable, but at the same time not — I think I absolutely had 2 people that were the biggest suspects in my mind, but how they were connected or the actual intricacies of how things happened were still up in the air.
All in all, for my first dive into the thriller/suspense genre in quite a while, this was a good read. I believe I received it as a part of the Amazon Prime Monthly First Reads! So, I am happy to see that it was a good pick.
spice level: N/A
litwithleigh's review
This was the most atrocious 3 pages I've read in my life. Holy. Fuck. The literal first paragraph ponders if "adopted blood" identifies more with the adopted family vs the bio. What in the fuck ? Then, the MC wonders how the FBI could know what cafe she visits? Girl????? How tf wouldn't they? I tapped out. And that's saying a lot because I've read pieces of work like Verity.
t1dmama's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
It is very rare for me to find a book that I just do not like or could care less if I finished, but for some reason, this book was it for me! I was pretty dead set on a 2 star rating, however, the ending did have some redeeming qualities that made me take it up a notch!
I've never previously read anything by Elle Marr but I have several of her books on my TBR list, so I am hoping that it was just this book, but I'm definitely still willing and exciting to read the other books to gauge my interest in her as an author. I certainly appreciate the uniqueness of the story and that it's not just your typical run-of-the-mill mystery book!
The ending of this book had a certain gusto, that if the rest of the book had contained, then this book would have knocked it out of the park for me! The story was full of lots of heavy topics, which the focus of that was high, and in some ways I think that may have taken away from the mystery aspect of the story! But the ending...that wasn't particularly something I saw coming!
Strangers We Know is read by a trio of narrators...Janet Song, Alexander Cendese, and Lauren Ezzo. I have to say that the narration fell a little flat for me and felt a bit robotic at times.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed in this book, but have incredibly high hopes for greatness from Elle Marr in her other books!
I've never previously read anything by Elle Marr but I have several of her books on my TBR list, so I am hoping that it was just this book, but I'm definitely still willing and exciting to read the other books to gauge my interest in her as an author. I certainly appreciate the uniqueness of the story and that it's not just your typical run-of-the-mill mystery book!
The ending of this book had a certain gusto, that if the rest of the book had contained, then this book would have knocked it out of the park for me! The story was full of lots of heavy topics, which the focus of that was high, and in some ways I think that may have taken away from the mystery aspect of the story! But the ending...that wasn't particularly something I saw coming!
Strangers We Know is read by a trio of narrators...Janet Song, Alexander Cendese, and Lauren Ezzo. I have to say that the narration fell a little flat for me and felt a bit robotic at times.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed in this book, but have incredibly high hopes for greatness from Elle Marr in her other books!
robbins_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bringingflowers's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
olsenenger's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0