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A review by beccajbooks
All the Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson
3.0
Ok, so I have had some time to think about this one and here are my thoughts. 3.5stars.
So we have a college kid, Harry, who gets the sad news that his dad has died and that he needs to return home to help with the funeral and running the house for a little while. His step mother is at home and needs his support as she is fragile and grieving. Alice was married to Harry's dad for a couple of years and she isn't that much older than him. As a typical teenage boy, he finds himself sexually attracted to her, but not so much that he would take any action on it.
When Harry is home, he finds out that his father's death may not be as accidental as he first thought, and this book explores the likely explanation for his fathers death and why Alice is acting so suspiciously.
There are a host of secondary characters, who are all fleshed out well. And the main storyline, as well as the way it is written - now and then - is good, a really interesting concept. However, I found it quite slow to get into. I thought that there was a lot of detail and back story before anything really happened. This put me off and when it all started happening at the end, I couldn't help feeling that it was a little too late.
Alice is a horrible character. I don't suppose we are meant to like her, but I absolutely didn't like her. She was manipulative, secretive, rude and deceptive.
Harry's dad wasn't all angels and sunshine either, having the affair with the younger girl from New York. The twins were annoying. Harry and his mate from college were probably the only ones I liked.
So overall, I was a bit underwhelmed. I had had high hopes because I absolutely LOVED The Kind Worth Killing. That one was one of my favourite reads of the year I read it. So fantastic and I can't wait to read it again. Very different to this one.
https://thebeautifulbookbreak.com
So we have a college kid, Harry, who gets the sad news that his dad has died and that he needs to return home to help with the funeral and running the house for a little while. His step mother is at home and needs his support as she is fragile and grieving. Alice was married to Harry's dad for a couple of years and she isn't that much older than him. As a typical teenage boy, he finds himself sexually attracted to her, but not so much that he would take any action on it.
When Harry is home, he finds out that his father's death may not be as accidental as he first thought, and this book explores the likely explanation for his fathers death and why Alice is acting so suspiciously.
There are a host of secondary characters, who are all fleshed out well. And the main storyline, as well as the way it is written - now and then - is good, a really interesting concept. However, I found it quite slow to get into. I thought that there was a lot of detail and back story before anything really happened. This put me off and when it all started happening at the end, I couldn't help feeling that it was a little too late.
Alice is a horrible character. I don't suppose we are meant to like her, but I absolutely didn't like her. She was manipulative, secretive, rude and deceptive.
Spoiler
I wasn't sold on the Jake aspect of the now and don't think that this was a very plausible arc to the storyline. It makes no sense that NO ONE would recognise him in this seemingly small town, if that is where he was from and especially as Alice was still there?!Harry's dad wasn't all angels and sunshine either, having the affair with the younger girl from New York. The twins were annoying. Harry and his mate from college were probably the only ones I liked.
So overall, I was a bit underwhelmed. I had had high hopes because I absolutely LOVED The Kind Worth Killing. That one was one of my favourite reads of the year I read it. So fantastic and I can't wait to read it again. Very different to this one.
https://thebeautifulbookbreak.com