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alice293's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
contemporarymeepsie's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
SPOILERS FOR THE MAIN PLOT ARE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW.
The Catch is Ryan Wilson. He's a real catch, having all the hallmarks of being the best boyfriend that Abbie could ever wish for, but her dad Ed doesn't think so. From their first meeting he gets a feeling there's a catch to this perfect man.
Do you get it? Do you get the double entendre? If I could write a sentence that encapsulated me rolling my eyes then I would. Instead you'll just have to infer my heavy eye rolling whilst reading this review. I hated this book, as evidenced by the low score. I hated this book so much that by page 100 I wanted to stop reading but I didn't DNF as I have a goal this year to read every book club book and - you guessed it - this was a book club book. By the time I got to page 208 (51%) I decided if I had any hope of finishing this book then I had to swap to reading it in a different way, so I downloaded the audiobook and bombed through the last 6 hours in one day just so I could get through it.
Now for the actual review. This book was predictable, repetitive, lacked any sense of tension, repetitive, boring, had unlikeable characters, repetitive, unrealistic regarding wedding planning and oh did I mention it was repetitive? The first entire section had 40 chapters of Ed starting a chapter with being suspicious of Ryan, then halfway through he'd say 'hmm maybe I'm wrong?' And then by the end of the chapter he'd double down in his suspicions. Some were warranted whilst others were. Regardless every chapter followed this pattern and it was so boring to read. Eventually when something did finally happen, it was predictable and uninspired. I had been hoping it would flip what was happening and it would turn outAbbie was the murderer or even Ed himself. But sadly no interesting twist occurred. The only saving grace it had was that Ed actually died. If he'd turned up at the end to save Abbie on the moors (because Ryan had been holding him hostage instead of just murdering him) I would have literally given this book 0 stars. Instead we had to deal with the unlikely event that Claire had woken up with a bad feeling, driven out to follow them and had just so happened to be in the right spot at the right time to hear her daughter's screams in the middle of a god damn Moor! Off the path! My frustration aside, this book did not need to be 70 chapters long, it could have been half the length for a much more interesting, condensed and tense story. The lack of tension I believe was down to the prologue in which we read a murder occurring. Meaning that all of Ed's suspicions are valid from the very start. Literally removing that would start us off following Ed and wondering alongside him whether he's paranoid or not. It would have been so much more interesting, but because that snippet was included meant we knew from the start that someone was a murderer and who else could it be other then the guy the book is named after? What a waste of my time and energy. I would not recommend this book.
The Catch is Ryan Wilson. He's a real catch, having all the hallmarks of being the best boyfriend that Abbie could ever wish for, but her dad Ed doesn't think so. From their first meeting he gets a feeling there's a catch to this perfect man.
Do you get it? Do you get the double entendre? If I could write a sentence that encapsulated me rolling my eyes then I would. Instead you'll just have to infer my heavy eye rolling whilst reading this review. I hated this book, as evidenced by the low score. I hated this book so much that by page 100 I wanted to stop reading but I didn't DNF as I have a goal this year to read every book club book and - you guessed it - this was a book club book. By the time I got to page 208 (51%) I decided if I had any hope of finishing this book then I had to swap to reading it in a different way, so I downloaded the audiobook and bombed through the last 6 hours in one day just so I could get through it.
Now for the actual review. This book was predictable, repetitive, lacked any sense of tension, repetitive, boring, had unlikeable characters, repetitive, unrealistic regarding wedding planning and oh did I mention it was repetitive? The first entire section had 40 chapters of Ed starting a chapter with being suspicious of Ryan, then halfway through he'd say 'hmm maybe I'm wrong?' And then by the end of the chapter he'd double down in his suspicions. Some were warranted whilst others were. Regardless every chapter followed this pattern and it was so boring to read. Eventually when something did finally happen, it was predictable and uninspired. I had been hoping it would flip what was happening and it would turn out
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
mike1's review
2.0
If it wasn't for my book group I would of put this book down about half way through it.I don't remember the last time I read a book that was more predictable than this one.I enjoyed "The Holiday" but this book was rubbish.
Long story short:if a person, place or thing sounds to good to be true it usually is.
Long story short:if a person, place or thing sounds to good to be true it usually is.
becca1997's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kerry2727's review
5.0
Brilliant mystery book! I couldn't put it down as each chapter draws you in further and it keeps you guessing right up until the last minute...would 100% recommend if you can handle suspense!
lee_anne's review
5.0
Read it in a day, absolutely brilliant. It was slightly predictable in places but that kind of added to the suspense! Glad I got his other 3 books from the library too as I’m hooked!
lucas_katie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
katloupea92's review
4.0
I did enjoy this overall. I like how it’s split into 4 parts but did feel the 1st part was very long in comparison to the other 3. I really liked the plot twist in part 3 but did find aspects of what had happened a bit far fetched but then again it was really well written and although it seemed a bit far fetched at times you could see how it all fitted together and how much thought had gone in to ensure there were no plot holes which I have to admit I did like. Overall a good read, would read others by T.M Logan in future for sure!
livres_de_bloss's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I decided to reread this. In 2020, when I first read it, I found it gripping. It’s melodramatic and entertaining for a rainy afternoon but it’s also got a lot of problems. Now, with more thrillers under my belt, and years of being disappointed by Logan’s subsequent books, I can see the patterns emerging in this book that would go on to form what I disliked about subsequent books:
The Obsessive Parent:
The obsessive, interfering parent schtick got tedious pretty quickly. The Dad is a bumbling food! It’s exhausting spending time with him. His inquiries are about as subtle as a fog horn (conspiring to kidnap with his BFF, using his real name, following the guy in his car, using his job’s accounts, not accounting for retaliation or technology). Are we supposed to sympathize with this guy’s actions or mindset? I didn’t love how the ends justified the ridiculous means.
The Annoying Offspring:
The daughter isn’t super sympathetic either. She comes across as incredibly naïve and one dimensional. Why is everyone so obsessed with her?
The Implausibility:
• No one apart from the loony dad is questioning the shotgun wedding? Surely even the venue would have checks in place for this type of thing? It could point to coercion.
• Vet not investigating Tilly’s injuries further after it was apparent she’d not been in a traffic accident.
• The dad not considering the dumb daughter had given the boyfriend keys to the parents’ house or that his vehicle might be tagged too
• The investigator was so cautious, there’s no way he’d have sleepwalked into Ryan’s trap.
• “Text messages saved in the drafts folder”. PARDON? One of the things that annoyed me in Logan’s subsequent books is that he inserts all sorts of inaccurate and nonsensical technobabble. I think he means “email”. When did text messages last have draft functions, the 00s?
• The mom showing up on the moors.
• Ryan genuinely being able to obfuscate any of what he did. You expect me to believe he’s not known to police?!
The Pregnancy:
Give me strength! At this stage, it’s just an OTT comedy.
Worth a re-read, if only to confirm I’m glad I gave up on Logan as an author.
The Obsessive Parent:
The obsessive, interfering parent schtick got tedious pretty quickly. The Dad is a bumbling food! It’s exhausting spending time with him. His inquiries are about as subtle as a fog horn (conspiring to kidnap with his BFF, using his real name, following the guy in his car, using his job’s accounts, not accounting for retaliation or technology). Are we supposed to sympathize with this guy’s actions or mindset? I didn’t love how the ends justified the ridiculous means.
The Annoying Offspring:
The daughter isn’t super sympathetic either. She comes across as incredibly naïve and one dimensional. Why is everyone so obsessed with her?
The Implausibility:
• No one apart from the loony dad is questioning the shotgun wedding? Surely even the venue would have checks in place for this type of thing? It could point to coercion.
• Vet not investigating Tilly’s injuries further after it was apparent she’d not been in a traffic accident.
• The dad not considering the dumb daughter had given the boyfriend keys to the parents’ house or that his vehicle might be tagged too
• The investigator was so cautious, there’s no way he’d have sleepwalked into Ryan’s trap.
• “Text messages saved in the drafts folder”. PARDON? One of the things that annoyed me in Logan’s subsequent books is that he inserts all sorts of inaccurate and nonsensical technobabble. I think he means “email”. When did text messages last have draft functions, the 00s?
• The mom showing up on the moors.
• Ryan genuinely being able to obfuscate any of what he did. You expect me to believe he’s not known to police?!
The Pregnancy:
Give me strength! At this stage, it’s just an OTT comedy.
Worth a re-read, if only to confirm I’m glad I gave up on Logan as an author.