Layemi
This is honestly one of the best books I have ever read in my life. I was engrossed in the story from start to finish, and the ending was one of the most shocking and heartbreaking endings I have come across, even more than some Agatha Christies I've read (which is saying a lot, she is my favourite author and I've read most of her books).
This is the book that got me into Moriarty and has kept me reading every subsequent book since. I still think about this one whenever I recall my favourite books, even though I read it years ago.
This was my first Agatha Christie, and still the best one of hers I've read, which is saying something, I've read every other Poirot, and most of all the others. Definitely one of my favourite books of all time.
A little bit shorter than I would have liked, and the story played out in a way I didn't really expect from the synopsis. A couple things felt as though they were thrown in for the shock factor and just for things to get crazier and crazier, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless and the pacing was great. Took off one star because the ending felt quite abrupt, it all wrapped up a bit too quickly. But overall a great quick read.
A bit of a disappointment from Shari Lapena. I had read The Couple Next Door and A Stranger in The House before this, so I had high expectations.
The first bad sign for me was that it follows a similar storyline that has been recycled many times since Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (one of my favourite books of all times). After reading that one, others with the similar storyline were usually a let down, but I hoped that because it's a Lapena book, I would feel differently.
For me, there are two types of mystery books. The type where the author gives you 95 percent of relevant clues, you can't put them together, then at the big reveal in the end you are shocked that you didn't put together all the obvious clues given to you. This describes the vast majority of Agatha Christie books (and The Couple Next Door) and I think that is one of the reasons she was so successful, because she did not hide a lot of relevant information from readers.
The second type is when the author purposefully leaves out large bits of relevant information, that if the reader had known, they would've solved the mystery instantly.
Of course, authors obviously are not supposed to reveal everything to readers, mystery or not. But sometimes such a great deal is hidden from readers that it feels a bit lazy on the author's part, and immediately the big reveal is made, the first thing the reader thinks is “if I had know that one piece of crucial information, I would've solved it immediately”.
The second instance is exactly what happened with this book. The reader is informed out of nowhere of a piece of information that, if we had known since, we easily could've guessed who committed the first murder, and then the rest from there.
Apart from this, the book was intriguing enough and entertaining, but the ending was so disappointing in that it came out of nowhere, that it soured my opinion of the whole book.
If this was another author, I would not read her work again. However, because I've read her other books and I know how great they are, I will actively await her next one and hope it is better than this.
Conflicted on the ending of this book. On one hand, of every Shari Lapena book I've read (all of them), I think this was the most captivating. I frantically turned every page desperately trying to figure out what the heck happened. The twists and turns came at me from every angle to the point I was mentally exhausted in a good way to make sure I was following the story correctly. The main problem I have with the book is the final twist/reveal, it just didn't live up to everything that had been built up in the story. I think the final solution could have been a little more intriguing/surprising. However the last paragraph of the book delivered one final twist that left me so desperate for a continuation of the story that it makes up for the not that surprising ending. Overall a good book and I'm glad I read it, but not the best I've read by Shari Lapena.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5. A beautiful touching novel. The ending threw me off in a way I didn't expect, and I wish it had gone a slightly different way. Other than that a great worthwhile read.
This novel had me completely engrossed from the start and on the edge of my seat, to the point where I couldn't read it at night for fear of having dreams about it (you definitely wouldn't want to be a character in this book). I'd have to take breaks to catch my breath and do something else for a bit, it is that tense. Alice Feeney does a fantastic job of creating an atmosphere that feels so real.
Similar concept to And Then There Were None, but a very original and surprising ending that makes you want to reread the whole thing.
Great novel by Shari Lapena. I felt like I was in Stephanie's shoes, understanding of her actions and feeling all her pain and hurt. Got a little repetitive at some points but by the end I was hooked. I've never hated a character more than I hated Erica, which I suppose is a good thing, it shows how well she's written. One of Shari Lapena's best endings, and left me wanting more.
Pretty good book, but I'm pretty sure if I'd sat down and thought it through I could have predicted the ending. Up until the end I thoroughly enjoyed it, the ending could have been more creative.