A review by notlikethebeer
The Things We Don't See by Savannah Brown
3.0
The Things We Don't See is Savannah Brown's second mystery novel: I loved the first so much that I was incredibly eager to read this! It follows Mona, who dedicates her time to exploring missing persons cases. One in particular has always haunted her - that of Roxy Raines, an extraordinary musician who disappeared seemingly without a case. Employing a level of subterfuge, Mona finds a way to escape to the island that was once home to Roxy, in an attempt to discover the answers. However, the island has held tightly to it's secrets - just as Mona has held tightly to hers - and neither of them are willing to face the truth just yet.
This novel started really brilliantly. The 'podcast' genre has been very popular in recent years, and I think that's absolutely justified, as it seems to never fail to produce an excellent read! That being said, I wish this one had utilised the podcast a little more.
I was gripped from the start, there were so many layers to the mystery here, and I raced through to try and get an answer to all of my questions. However, I think it lost momentum, and I was eventually reading not so much out of pleasure, but more to see how far it would go - and it went pretty far, I found the final reveals a little too far-fetched I think. I guess there was a clever mix of foreshadowing and surprise, but it didn't really feel that way.
A really strong element of this book for me was Mona's character - I liked the hardened, almost cold nature she had, and I enjoyed getting to know her background. I also really liked the way she interacted with her room-mate and the boy on the island (I'm hopeless with names!), but I wish there had been more of that. Mostly, I found the way she set about getting her answers pretty ridiculous and very obvious! - she did some rather absurd things, which impacted the realism of the book.
Overall, this was an interesting read, and definitely a unique addition to the world of YA thriller/mystery. It wasn't as good as Brown's first, but I am still looking forwards to what she writes next.
This novel started really brilliantly. The 'podcast' genre has been very popular in recent years, and I think that's absolutely justified, as it seems to never fail to produce an excellent read! That being said, I wish this one had utilised the podcast a little more.
I was gripped from the start, there were so many layers to the mystery here, and I raced through to try and get an answer to all of my questions. However, I think it lost momentum, and I was eventually reading not so much out of pleasure, but more to see how far it would go - and it went pretty far, I found the final reveals a little too far-fetched I think. I guess there was a clever mix of foreshadowing and surprise, but it didn't really feel that way.
A really strong element of this book for me was Mona's character - I liked the hardened, almost cold nature she had, and I enjoyed getting to know her background. I also really liked the way she interacted with her room-mate and the boy on the island (I'm hopeless with names!), but I wish there had been more of that. Mostly, I found the way she set about getting her answers pretty ridiculous and very obvious! - she did some rather absurd things, which impacted the realism of the book.
Overall, this was an interesting read, and definitely a unique addition to the world of YA thriller/mystery. It wasn't as good as Brown's first, but I am still looking forwards to what she writes next.