Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Five Survive

“Five Survive” starts off slowly, introducing its protagonist, Red, who echoes Holly Jackson's other heroines—highly intelligent, somewhat quirky, and grappling with social dynamics within a close-knit friend group. This setup might seem like a retread of Jackson’s other works, but it sets the stage for the tension that ramps up as the story unfolds.

As the narrative picks up pace, Jackson demonstrates her skill in creating a gripping and suspenseful plot within the confines of a small space—just 31 feet. The interactions among a diverse cast of characters is handled adeptly, with Jackson balancing the dynamics and delivering a mix of predictable and surprising twists. The high stakes keeps the reader engaged, making it a nail-biting experience despite its slow start.

Although “Five Survive” may not reach the same intensity as “The Reappearance of Rachel Price” or the same cleverness of “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder,” it remains an engaging listen, particularly effective as an audiobook enjoyed on a dark, stormy night.

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persephonefoxx's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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scarly09's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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jelkebooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I'm starting to think that "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" was written by a different author than Holly Jackson's other books, because I'm consistantly having the same issues with her books after that one. Anyway, yeah, I didn't like this one. I promise you, I really wanted to. I thought this would be a fun read because it was more thriller than mystery, and could be a great change of pase for Holly Jackson. It just didn't work for me.
I do have to say that this was a pretty compelling, and fast read. I did absolutely fly through this book. Towards the third quarter I also felt like the tension was incredibly high. I feel like I could feel it, and I was legitemally on the edge of my seat while reading it. So there are definitely some positives. I didn't completely hate this book.
However, my biggest gripe about this book were the characters. Considering that this is mostly the characters talking to each other, that's a big thing to have an issue with. Red wasn't the worst, but I hated being in her head. She's so spacey, and she can't string two thoughts together. It was just so annoying to read about. It also didn't actually end playing a part in the narrative, so I don't know why that was done at all. One of the friends (which is also the loudest one in the book, as in he's constantly talking) is truly a psychopath. I don't like the say that, but he was just beyond an awful person. I fucking hated him, and wanted to suckerpunch him throughout the novel. It made my absolute blood boil. He's also so fucking stupid, he didn't have a single intelligent thought in this book, but for some reason the other characters kiss his ass so much, and act like he's the smartest person ever and everyone should do as he says because he knows best. UUUUUUUUUUGH! I hated it so much.
I also thought the plot was quite predictable. The reveals didn't really shock me at all. It was all just so obvious, but I didn't mind too much. However, the way things unravelled weren't my favourite. It was just quite frustrating, and I feel like I also just needed a little bit more. In the very end it just felt a bit anti-climactic. So yeah, this book just simply isn't my thing.

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