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artsyfartsymama's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
2.75
I really, REALLY wanted to love this! It started out so strong with a killers POV, and it was fantastic! Once it turned to the police POV, there were so many characters to try to keep track of. By the middle of the book, I felt like I was reading two separate books. If the police/gang sections were its own book, it would be great! However, it became disconnected and I was disappointed that the copy cat killer's POV was more of an "oh yeah, and this is also happening". Because of this, the ending kind of felt rushed and like a cop-out (pun not intended).
caitlin_b_books's review
4.0
Wow the descriptions in this book were brutal..... but so good. It made it so much more realistic of a story that the reader could get immersed in, but I would not recommend if you are squeamish when it comes to descriptions for decomposition, death, etc.. However, it mostly happens in the first couple of chapters.
I appreciated that we got plenty of back story for the killer in this case during their POV chapters, however, I did miss the mystery behind finding out who the killer was and why they did it. The father was insane, so it was a great way to see how it affected his child and how it molded him to follow closely in his father's footsteps, and how it still affects him even after his father's passing.
Now, since I did not read the other books in this series, the gang plot line confused me (but I'm assuming it is a continuation from the previous books in this series). None of this was mentioned in the synopsis and had nothing to do with the copy-cat murders so it came as a surprise when it came time for those chapters. I felt like it took away from what I would say was labeled the main plot line of the book based on the title and synopsis.
Thank you to Emmy Ellis, Joffe Books, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.
I appreciated that we got plenty of back story for the killer in this case during their POV chapters, however, I did miss the mystery behind finding out who the killer was and why they did it. The father was insane, so it was a great way to see how it affected his child and how it molded him to follow closely in his father's footsteps, and how it still affects him even after his father's passing.
Now, since I did not read the other books in this series, the gang plot line confused me (but I'm assuming it is a continuation from the previous books in this series). None of this was mentioned in the synopsis and had nothing to do with the copy-cat murders so it came as a surprise when it came time for those chapters. I felt like it took away from what I would say was labeled the main plot line of the book based on the title and synopsis.
Thank you to Emmy Ellis, Joffe Books, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.
babychreez's review
4.0
ARC generously provided by NetGalley & Joffe Books. Thank you!
I absolutely devoured this book! Such a fun thriller! Not a lot of twists and you know what is going on while the “good guy” main characters don’t, but in this particular case, this is done really well!
I was super invested in everyone’s individual stories, despite there being a lot of characters and different timelines—this is rare for me! I was expecting Anna to be a Mary-Sue character, but I found that all of the main characters were complex, flawed, and interesting individuals.
I appreciated that all references to animals were not graphic—I’m an ethical vegan and it bothers me when authors add animals into horror just for the sake of being shocking and disturbing. I also really love when authors add riddles to their stories—I was floored by this one!
With this being an uncorrected proof copy, there were obviously some errors—Most notably, the author using the wrong character’s name in places. With that being said, this was still one of the better books I’ve read this year! I definitely want to read more from the Detective Anna James series! I LOVED this story! A gruesome and gory 3.75 stars, rounded up!
I absolutely devoured this book! Such a fun thriller! Not a lot of twists and you know what is going on while the “good guy” main characters don’t, but in this particular case, this is done really well!
I was super invested in everyone’s individual stories, despite there being a lot of characters and different timelines—this is rare for me! I was expecting Anna to be a Mary-Sue character, but I found that all of the main characters were complex, flawed, and interesting individuals.
I appreciated that all references to animals were not graphic—I’m an ethical vegan and it bothers me when authors add animals into horror just for the sake of being shocking and disturbing. I also really love when authors add riddles to their stories—I was floored by this one!
With this being an uncorrected proof copy, there were obviously some errors—Most notably, the author using the wrong character’s name in places. With that being said, this was still one of the better books I’ve read this year! I definitely want to read more from the Detective Anna James series! I LOVED this story! A gruesome and gory 3.75 stars, rounded up!