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mary_elizabeth's review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- 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
3.75
bookonarooftop's review
3.0
What if someone told you that predicting your death was possible with a mathematical equation?
Sounds quite bizarre, does it?
The story follows a dysfunctional Severy family after the death of a family member.
As the main character, the granddaughter of a famed mathematician who passed away tries to find the equation grandfather left for her, the tragic truth about other family members comes to light.
As much as I loved the idea of the story, it was "too much". Too many themes all in one, spread all around the place, without diving deep into them. The book tries to address topics such as vigilante justice, child abuse, drug abuse, infidelity, pseudo-incestious relationship, etc. But all of these are just on a surface level.
The Chaos theory the author uses to predict future deaths could have been explained better - I would not have minded more scientific/mathematical explanations.
And it's sold as a mystery novel but the clue-hunt part, the thriller part is just a background story, no one cares about it. No clues are fully explored and everything just ends up too predictable.
[Maybe that was the point? To predict the future with that mathematical equation? Who knows]
Sounds quite bizarre, does it?
The story follows a dysfunctional Severy family after the death of a family member.
As the main character, the granddaughter of a famed mathematician who passed away tries to find the equation grandfather left for her, the tragic truth about other family members comes to light.
As much as I loved the idea of the story, it was "too much". Too many themes all in one, spread all around the place, without diving deep into them. The book tries to address topics such as vigilante justice, child abuse, drug abuse, infidelity, pseudo-incestious relationship, etc. But all of these are just on a surface level.
The Chaos theory the author uses to predict future deaths could have been explained better - I would not have minded more scientific/mathematical explanations.
And it's sold as a mystery novel but the clue-hunt part, the thriller part is just a background story, no one cares about it. No clues are fully explored and everything just ends up too predictable.
[Maybe that was the point? To predict the future with that mathematical equation? Who knows]
celiapowell's review
3.0
Isaac Severy, famous mathematician, dies under slightly mysterious circumstances, leaving his niece Hazel a cryptic letter of clues leading to his last piece of work - the last equation of the title. This novel isn't just a mystery quest story though - in large part, it's a story about Severy's family, and their secrets and difficult relationships. I really enjoyed it.
hmetwade's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
kiki_chaser's review against another edition
I didn’t like the audiobook narrator’s voice and the story was really slow to start. Even after an hour of listening (30%) of the way into the book, it didn't feel like anything had really happened.
tepmurt12's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I did enjoy the story, I've read so many mysteries about spouses and locked rooms that this was a nice change of pace however Hazel was the one character we were supposed to like and she was absolutely infuriating as well as the fact that I hated that she ended up with her cousin, even if they aren't blood related.
aileron's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Infidelity
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, and Abandonment
sazs's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jmarchek's review against another edition
3.0
It took me forever to read this book, mostly because I kept misplacing my kindle. So it can be tricky to keep track of all the characters. I like a puzzle and this revolves around a mathematician who left a clue to his secret equation with the most unlikely of his granddaughters and how she tries to solve it. The rest of the family is pretty messed up, and maybe the print version has some type of family tree that would help, but I was confused a lot. Once I got 2/3rds of the way through, I sped through the rest.
caebrown's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75