A review by nerdynatreads
Behind the Red Door by Megan Collins

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

the way fern's anxiety is handled is so well done and infectious, where I was constantly anxious every time we turned a corner or uncovered a new suspect. 

how the story is unveiled was incredibly addicting to read, bc I would have one suspect, but then another piece of evidence would be revealed or a new memory would resurface and I'd suddenly hop on to the next suspect. This happened time and time again until the killer was finally revealed, and although I guessed who it was from early on, I wasn't angry, bc it was handled in such a fascinating way! 

this really pushed into a psychological thriller where you have to figure out whether you can trust fern's brain and her memories or if she may be leading you astray. It did have an unreliable narrator in that sense, which I ended up really loving. 

there was an additional surprise twist at the end which I felt pretty ambivalent about. Part of me was surprised, but part of me wasn't. 

finally, the ending itself left me a little unsatisfied. It's sort of ambiguous as to what the next steps will be for the protagonist in terms of the mystery, and I wasn't as big a fan of that. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings