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A review by powerpuffgoat
Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly
dark
emotional
mysterious
2.5
The easiest way for me to sum up this book is "not good enough". That's not to say there were no good aspects, but there weren't enough.
The premise of the book is captivating, and it doesn't pull any punches from the very beginning... or so I hoped. After the gripping first chapter, it slows right down and turns into mush.
The main character, Dixie, is an unreliable narrator, but in the worst way. There is no subtlety to it, it's all very ham-fisted, and it just doesn't work. Additionally, she is impulsive and does many things with no rhyme or reason. Her sense of self-preservation is basically absent in favour of processing the strange plot.
Other characters aren't much better. Dixie's partner, initially acting like any reasonable adult would in his situation, does a 180 and just enables her behaviour. The villain's motivation is such a stretch, I think I pulled a muscle just reading it. Also, I cannot stand "bad guy monologues". Truly, how does this trope still make an appearance?
Finally, the plot and pace of this book are all over the place. The twists either come completely out of nowhere, or you can see them from a mile away. Again, zero subtlety. Zero finnesse. The entire book is just clunky, and reading it was more hard work than I am willing to do for entertainment.
The premise of the book is captivating, and it doesn't pull any punches from the very beginning... or so I hoped. After the gripping first chapter, it slows right down and turns into mush.
The main character, Dixie, is an unreliable narrator, but in the worst way. There is no subtlety to it, it's all very ham-fisted, and it just doesn't work. Additionally, she is impulsive and does many things with no rhyme or reason. Her sense of self-preservation is basically absent in favour of processing the strange plot.
Other characters aren't much better. Dixie's partner, initially acting like any reasonable adult would in his situation, does a 180 and just enables her behaviour. The villain's motivation is such a stretch, I think I pulled a muscle just reading it. Also, I cannot stand "bad guy monologues". Truly, how does this trope still make an appearance?
Finally, the plot and pace of this book are all over the place. The twists either come completely out of nowhere, or you can see them from a mile away. Again, zero subtlety. Zero finnesse. The entire book is just clunky, and reading it was more hard work than I am willing to do for entertainment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Stalking
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence