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fictionmajorette's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Full thoughts: https://fictionmajorette.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-final-child-fran-dorricott.html
TW/CW: child abduction, death of a child, alcoholism.
Overall, I really enjoyed this thriller and would recommend it with the understanding that it does not shy away from the subject matter so it won't be a good fit for all readers. I think having Harriet being the lens that we get most of the backstory through was a great choice. She has a personal connection to the case and says multiple times that she's sick of everyone focusing on The Father instead of the children.
I thought the pacing in the story was great and really ramped up from mystery to full blown thriller by the end. The beginning of the story was pretty slow and it took me until maybe 20% to be invested. We're following Harriet and Erin separately as they are both going about their lives. I get that this beginning part is more to show the status quo of their lives and how well (or not well) they're handling things. The two women then meet and Erin is initially hesitant but when strange things start happening, she is more willing to hear Harriet out. This starts a domino effect, of sorts, that it really felt like the two women couldn't stop even if they tried.
I really enjoyed the different POV we got throughout the book. We get Harriet, Erin, and then a third POV that only uses nicknames. The third POV was an interesting addition that we don't get right away. I think the choices of when to switch POV were used very effectively to build tension and hint at things to come - especially when we figure out where that third perspective fits into the overall narrative.
The main part of the story that fell a little short for me were the characters of Erin and Harriet. To me, they felt a bit underdeveloped to be the main characters. I felt like I knew the same amount of information about them that I knew about the other secondary characters. When we're introduced to them, they are both haunted by The Father in their own way - Harriet is obsessed with the case and using it to work through her memories of her cousins and her grief but Erin is obsessively trying to distance herself from the case. I can understand that, for both women, having something that huge being in your life consistently can leave little room for other hobbies and relationships. However, as a reader, I really wanted both of them to have something else going on in their lives. The plot of the story was very intriguing and I did like how we got a little more history of both women as the story progressed, but as a character-focused reader, I wasn't really attached to or interested in these characters specifically.
I really enjoyed the investigation as well as the ending, which I think are key points to hit home when it comes to mystery/thrillers. I thought the investigation path was really well paced and made sense of what led them from one plot point to the next. I also found the path of the investigation to be pretty realistic considering the two women didn't have any sort of extra skills or access to investigate - gotta love a mystery solved by Google and social media sleuthing! The thriller aspect really cranked up in the last 1/3 of the book when the past and the present collide.
Overall, I enjoyed this mystery/thriller. I loved the pacing, the investigation, and the ending but found the characters a little underdeveloped for my personal taste.
Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC in exchange for review
Expected publication date is September 7, 2021.
TW/CW: child abduction, death of a child, alcoholism.
Overall, I really enjoyed this thriller and would recommend it with the understanding that it does not shy away from the subject matter so it won't be a good fit for all readers. I think having Harriet being the lens that we get most of the backstory through was a great choice. She has a personal connection to the case and says multiple times that she's sick of everyone focusing on The Father instead of the children.
I thought the pacing in the story was great and really ramped up from mystery to full blown thriller by the end. The beginning of the story was pretty slow and it took me until maybe 20% to be invested. We're following Harriet and Erin separately as they are both going about their lives. I get that this beginning part is more to show the status quo of their lives and how well (or not well) they're handling things. The two women then meet and Erin is initially hesitant but when strange things start happening, she is more willing to hear Harriet out. This starts a domino effect, of sorts, that it really felt like the two women couldn't stop even if they tried.
I really enjoyed the different POV we got throughout the book. We get Harriet, Erin, and then a third POV that only uses nicknames. The third POV was an interesting addition that we don't get right away. I think the choices of when to switch POV were used very effectively to build tension and hint at things to come - especially when we figure out where that third perspective fits into the overall narrative.
The main part of the story that fell a little short for me were the characters of Erin and Harriet. To me, they felt a bit underdeveloped to be the main characters. I felt like I knew the same amount of information about them that I knew about the other secondary characters. When we're introduced to them, they are both haunted by The Father in their own way - Harriet is obsessed with the case and using it to work through her memories of her cousins and her grief but Erin is obsessively trying to distance herself from the case. I can understand that, for both women, having something that huge being in your life consistently can leave little room for other hobbies and relationships. However, as a reader, I really wanted both of them to have something else going on in their lives. The plot of the story was very intriguing and I did like how we got a little more history of both women as the story progressed, but as a character-focused reader, I wasn't really attached to or interested in these characters specifically.
I really enjoyed the investigation as well as the ending, which I think are key points to hit home when it comes to mystery/thrillers. I thought the investigation path was really well paced and made sense of what led them from one plot point to the next. I also found the path of the investigation to be pretty realistic considering the two women didn't have any sort of extra skills or access to investigate - gotta love a mystery solved by Google and social media sleuthing! The thriller aspect really cranked up in the last 1/3 of the book when the past and the present collide.
Overall, I enjoyed this mystery/thriller. I loved the pacing, the investigation, and the ending but found the characters a little underdeveloped for my personal taste.
Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC in exchange for review
Expected publication date is September 7, 2021.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Alcoholism
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