outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Sera Fleece loves true crime podcasts, especially one by a host named Rachel Bard. Rachel's podcasts are about women & girls who go missing, & when Rachel suddenly goes silent, Sera thinks she has disappeared too. Sera uproots her life & heads off to where Rachel lived/lives but when she reaches the nearest town, Happy Camp, the locals are unfriendly & try to warn her off going to the ranch. Rachel's parents, mother Addy & father Emmett, are strangely unconcerned about Rachel's whereabouts. They hire Sera to look after the horses & start getting the camp quarters into shape for summer visitors. In her free time & the evening, Sera tries to find out what happened to Rachel & why everyone is so tight-lipped about the women who have disappeared over the years. Can Sera find out what happened to Rachel before Sera disappears too?
Oh dear. This could have been great - fan of crime podcast investigates the disappearance of the host. Instead we mostly get Sera mooching around the ranch & mooning after Jed (the stock Texas cowboy stereotype). In fact Sera is the main problem with this book, she is just really annoying. Her idea of investigation is just blurting questions out without actually thinking things through, & her insistence that she knows Rachel better than anyone else just because she listened to her true crime podcast is just weird & stalkerish. Also her knowledge that she really shouldn't trust anyone but she decides to trust Jed just because she's attracted to him. I kept reading, hoping it was going to suddenly pick up, but no - even the ending is unsatisfactory. Very disappointing.
Oh dear. This could have been great - fan of crime podcast investigates the disappearance of the host. Instead we mostly get Sera mooching around the ranch & mooning after Jed (the stock Texas cowboy stereotype). In fact Sera is the main problem with this book, she is just really annoying. Her idea of investigation is just blurting questions out without actually thinking things through, & her insistence that she knows Rachel better than anyone else just because she listened to her true crime podcast is just weird & stalkerish. Also her knowledge that she really shouldn't trust anyone but she decides to trust Jed just because she's attracted to him. I kept reading, hoping it was going to suddenly pick up, but no - even the ending is unsatisfactory. Very disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Miscarriage and Infidelity
odrib's review
challenging
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage and Infidelity
nickoliver's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-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
1.0
This is possibly the stupidest thriller I've ever read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Stalking, and Vomit
Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Suicide
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual content
carisamarie's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Sexual content, Sexism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Car accident, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
hookedbybooks's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What starts as an obsession story, it grows into something else.
A fan of podcaster Rachel, Sera goes on an investigation to find her when she goes missing. Now missing isn't the right word, per-se. As noone, including her family has filed a missing person's report. And no one else is worried, except for Sera. She goes to the family ranch, and gets herself hired as a farm hand to help with the horses, and find out more about Rachel's family as well as the missing woman herself.
This book weaves the reality of this lost woman, Sera in real world, with the idea of what she knows about Rachel and her world, and it becomes like a mind game. There are things where you cannot decipher who is who, and what is real, what Sera is reflecting of herself, and what is assumed or imagined.
What did bother me how trusty and naive Sera might have seen at times. You know when you watch a scary movie and you have that feeling that something bad is about to happen to the character.. Well for a true crime podcast obsessed, Sera didn't seem to be listening to her own senses, or having any fear at that.
The end! I had all these theories about where this story is going. And because I love a good obsession narrative, I was hoping I was right- but nope, missed it. Even though the clues are there! (they were just leading me the wrong direction).
Overall, a refreshing take. Smart, and engrossing. I loved the whole theme of disappearance, especially when it comes to the narratives, and how women are always painted.
A fan of podcaster Rachel, Sera goes on an investigation to find her when she goes missing. Now missing isn't the right word, per-se. As noone, including her family has filed a missing person's report. And no one else is worried, except for Sera. She goes to the family ranch, and gets herself hired as a farm hand to help with the horses, and find out more about Rachel's family as well as the missing woman herself.
This book weaves the reality of this lost woman, Sera in real world, with the idea of what she knows about Rachel and her world, and it becomes like a mind game. There are things where you cannot decipher who is who, and what is real, what Sera is reflecting of herself, and what is assumed or imagined.
What did bother me how trusty and naive Sera might have seen at times. You know when you watch a scary movie and you have that feeling that something bad is about to happen to the character.. Well for a true crime podcast obsessed, Sera didn't seem to be listening to her own senses, or having any fear at that.
The end! I had all these theories about where this story is going. And because I love a good obsession narrative, I was hoping I was right- but nope, missed it. Even though the clues are there! (they were just leading me the wrong direction).
Overall, a refreshing take. Smart, and engrossing. I loved the whole theme of disappearance, especially when it comes to the narratives, and how women are always painted.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Alcoholism, Confinement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, and Sexism
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