Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Hand on the Wall

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson

16 reviews

nfarrell24's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

SPOILERS

The first 75% of this book was great. The mystery was still alive and engaging, but the last 25% lost me a bit. The ending of the Ellingham case seemed too easy and quick. I felt like Charles was all of a sudden the culprit, almost out of nowhere. I also feel like the case still had so many unanswered questions, and even as good as Stevie was, there was no way she would just figure it all out like that. I’m also not entirely sure why the part where they went into the cave was necessary to the story.

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bookishgoob's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

this was definitely the BEST of the trilogy but as a whole the trilogy as a whole i think is 5 stars but this one is my favorite for sure. I love the relationship between all the characters and i think that Nate is autistic coded because he felt very on the spectrum to me (as someone on the spectrum) this book was so suspenseful and the dual timelines was really fun. such a good ending to the trilogy. i can’t wait to start the box in the woods and continue on in this universe with these characters.

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genny's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Fun conclusion to the trilogy. Even though the culprit of the 1936 mystery was revealed in the last book, there were still many questions left and I enjoyed how the answers were revealed here. Leo Nair might just be my favorite side character. I've had a suspicion about the present-day culprit since the second book but dismissed it as unlikely, yet it turns out I was right! Point for me, whoo. Still, I was hoping for a bit more...I don't know, thrill? It felt a little anticlimactic. Stevie's style of revealing the culprit would've been corny, but she was so meta about it that it wasn't. 😆 Some of her conclusions felt earned, while others didn't (particularly her understanding of the 1936 mystery, which she suddenly info-dumps at the end).

David, though. David. He was incredibly annoying. I'm sorry, I get it, he's a teenager with personal issues, but I just cannot stand his "romance" with Stevie. Even the two of them couldn't explain why their relationship existed in the first place, haha. I dreaded their interactions. They never even addressed their problems

, they just got back together because of the emotional intensity of their situation. Poof, just like that, all the arguments they spat at each other were forgotten

. Cue plenty of eye rolls.

I still really enjoyed this and would be happy to read the next book. A fresh new mystery for Stevie sounds great.

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kb_sherman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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abeaninapod's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Okay so I love this series! I love the characters, the plot is so rich and everytime I think that it's the end it turns out it isn't. And we finally got to uncover so much about the mysteries of book one and two. But it was a little anticlimactic.... I don't know if it will pick back up in the next book. But this one lacked some of the umph that the others before had. Don't get me wrong my butt was clenched just as tightly (but I'm a scaredy cat) so all that sneaking around in the dark and the murders... yeah not good for bedtime reading. And guess when I do 95% of my reading!

I felt like the relationships were kinda flung together too. But I also understand that they went through a lot together and that brings people closer or at least makes them more curious about each other so I'll allow it.

Anyway. This is not a light read. But it's a great read.

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mariekejee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I enjoyed this book the most out of the three, I think. I grew to like the friend group a lot (although I still have some very mixed feelings about David) and the resolution of the mysteries was very satisfying. I liked the parts where it's trying to be cheeky and self-aware about being a mystery - the part where

Larry walked into the room with the wall scanner and Stevie started complaining about how long-winded her speech was, had me laughing out loud

.

It's entertaining - but as a YA novel with teenagers as protagonists, it's also a bit horrifying. I'm usually not too bothered by people dying in these typical mystery novels (I was promised murder and I will be disappointed if I don't <i>get</i> murder, ya hear me), but the idea that two kids died in such an awful, sad way is horrifying.

The fact that an adult purposely man slaughtered these kids is even worse and honestly makes me feel gross

. The resolution of the Alice plot line was also heartbreaking. I didn't realise until this book that Alice was <i>just three years old</i> when she was kidnapped. There's just a lot of sad crime in this book.

I enjoyed the flashbacks to 1936, and getting to know these characters involved in the Ellingham case. The David plot line/romance is still a bit hit-or-miss for me (although I am such a sucker for the "two people are fighting but they're trapped somewhere and might not get out so they need to sort out their shit" trope). Stevie is still an irresponsible little shit sometimes and I don't understand how these adults don't keep her locked up somewhere but it makes for a fun read, at least. Speaking of irresponsible: what is the deal with Germaine? The story wants me to believe she

was the one watching Stevie from the outside, but girl, you're in the middle of a fucking blizzard. Where the fuck was she staying? Why was she outside Stevie's window at midnight? You can't expect me to believe she stayed alive by just kicking it without a place to hide from the storm

.

Oh well, teenage antics aside, this was a good book. If you're into mystery stories and don't get queasy by a little underage murder, then I'd recommend this series. The cliffhangers are a bit unfair, but they kept me reading. The tension keeps building throughout the series and although it takes 1000 pages for the mystery to be completely resolved, it's worth it in the end and I'm glad I kept reading. Maybe I'll even pick up more of Johnson's books! Who knows.

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