Justine

No. Absolutely the F*ck Not.

Revisado: 12-06-23

SPOILERS AHEAD!

I really wanted to like this story. An Irish folktale, it sounded so interesting. I was still willing to give it a chance after 20 chapters of not a whole lot happening. Very little actual folklore divulged, very little action. A lot of filler. But that's not the worst part. The author hopped on the, "write women stupid because it's easier" trend.

Ben and Chloe accept a hilariously shady "research assignment" from an old, rich recluse. They go to this isolated village and hear the story about the creeper. From that point on, they're doomed.

Chloe (secondary character) is barely more than a plot device. Allegedly an archeologist, she executes the damsel in distress role perfectly, even making sure to trip and fall during a chase scene, injuring her dainty little ankle. But we, as the reader, are supposed to forgive her for this because she's just so tiny! Really. Teeny tiny. She weighs as much as the main character's 3 year old daughter. The author goes to GREAT LENGTHS to make sure we know just how petite she is. Because that is super important.

Ben, the protagonist, is one of the least likeable characters I've ever had to endure. He is a self-admitted bad father, impulsive, stupid, and misogynistic. For 3/4 of the book, he is the quintessential skeptic. A trope not only beyond cliche but annoying and boring. At every opportunity, he dismisses Chloe's concerns and beliefs and generally acts like a dick. To the point of doing the one thing the folklore says not to do and endangering both their lives. Don't worry, Chloe forgives him immediately. She isn't even angry. She's too petite to be angry.

Which brings me to the conclusion of this dumpster fire. THE STORY ISN'T EVEN REAL. There is no creature. The village, full of inbred a-holes, keeps deforming its citizens to make "creepers." These creepers then go out into the world and stalk anyone who has heard the story. Standing outside their home for 3 nights, then murdering them and disposing of the bodies. The rich, old guy who started this whole mess? A "creeper" has been standing outside his house for literal decades. Does any of that make sense? No. Was it a good story? Also no.

The two hapless idiots who think their lives are in danger, go running to the source of the problem. Back to the village! Do they notify anyone, including the detective they've been talking to? No. Do they bring weapons or any useful equipment? Of course not! Are they both killed in a ridiculously unnecessary death scene? Yes. Ben's last thoughts, after watching Chloe being hammered to death? See, I was right this whole time. I knew the stories were just make believe. I told you so.

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An Insult to Women

Revisado: 09-05-23

I don't know if I've ever been this angry after a book. I am APPALLED that it was written by a woman. There has been a disappointing trend of chick-lit being dressed up as thriller to make it more exciting. This book is not a thriller. The majority of this book focused on two hetero, mentally abusive relationships and had nothing to do with the "mystery."

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Even more disturbing is the author's decision to perpetuate the trope of women being weak, stupid creatures. Offensively tone deaf for the times women are living in. Both female characters bumble through the story, ignoring blatant signs of danger, and ultimately do not lift a single finger to save themselves. Damsel in distress style, they sit around and wait for the men to do it.

Liv is so weak, she can't even open her mouth and speak at a conveniently timed plot point. I know very few women in real life who can't summon the English language when the situation calls for it.

In this same scene, Molly allows her "husband" to physically assault her and drag her away despite repeated protests - in front of her children. This is after Molly finds out that she and Scott/Sam are not even legally married because he lied to her about his identity. Oh, and that he might have killed someone. Almost none of the book is dedicated to her being afraid of him (for her life or her daughter's). Finding out you may be sleeping with a murderer should not be a "you spend the night on the couch" scenario. Her main concern is not with safety but whether they can find a way to make their relationship work because she just loves him so much.

Liv's story line is worse. She comes into town looking for her sister's killer and her abducted niece. Gets sidetracked by a guy she just met. Sleeps with him almost immediately and agrees to accompany him to a remote, isolated location completely forgetting the perilous situation she's in. But hey. What's mortal danger when it comes to getting a man?

Surprise - he's the one who actually murdered her sister. He finds out who Liv is as soon as she gets to town, researches everything he can about her, seeks her out, and seduces her KNOWING THE WHOLE TIME HE KILLED HER SISTER. That is unforgivably messed up. When Liv finds out, does she turn him over to the police? Light him on fire? No. She pouts because he doesn't really love her.

But hey! It's ok! At the end of the book he shows up at the airport to meet Liv in a unbearably cliche moment. Liv can hardly believe her good luck! The man who killed her sister decides maybe they should give it the old college try after all. Now she can have her happy ending.

And that's the moral of the story, the main take away. Not being careful on social media, nothing about parenting. But that getting a man, no matter what he's done or how badly he's treated you, is the MOST IMPORTANT THING IN A WOMAN'S LIFE. The author should be ashamed.

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Interesting But Kept Waiting for the Story

Revisado: 09-06-22

The performance was stellar. Loved the actor's overall voice and the nuance she brought to the different characters. There were times when the mother's voice grated on me a bit, but the book kept stressing how rasping and croaky it was so I can't blame the performer for doing her job.

For me, the story was less than stellar. I really wanted to love it and I was so interested when it first started but I feel like I missed all the action! You wait SO LONG to find out the backstory with the father and the info you do get happens in flashbacks. But even in those flashbacks, you don't really see what's going on. So, okay, fine. Maybe that's not what the story is about.

SPOILERS

Maybe the story is about Vera, our main character and her latent psychopathy. Or maybe about her mother's irrational hatred and resentment for her, how that's resolved one way or another. Or maybe it's about James, who has come to exploit Vera's family. Or maybe it's about the creature that may or may not exist under her bed. The answer is - not really. To any of the above.

Other than Vera's confrontation with James at the end, there is no resolution anywhere. No resolution with her father or former best friend. No confrontation with her mother. Almost no emotional satisfaction anywhere in the story. And for all the flashbacks we get, they bring very little to the table. I feel like Vera spent the entire book asleep (figuratively and literally) and I was stuck with her the whole time. I never got to see any of the good stuff.

I spent most of the book frustrated and disappointed. Which in itself is a disappointment.

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Young Adult Lit, NOT a Mystery

Revisado: 08-23-22

I came across this title when I searched summer themed horror, so I was set up for disappointment right away. It is NOT horror. And despite there being a mystery in the story, it is not a "Mystery" book. The focus is not on solving the mystery, it is on young adult drama. Which is fine, just say that.

Spoilers

For me, the biggest disappointment of this book was its main character. She is difficult to like. She starts out making a monumental mistake and I'm not sure she really learns the lesson from it. By the end of the book, she's still madly in love with the a-hole who "ruined her life" and then stood back and watched.

Look, I get it if he made a mistake, too. But he didn't just ruin her life, he dumped her, abandoned her, and let his friends say whatever they wanted about her. To her face. While he stood there. Not someone I'd be wistfully trying to honor at the end of the book.

In addition to questionable growth and development, I don't buy the premise or motivation for the main character. She manages to keep a life changing secret for months, hiding it from everyone including her parents and two best friends. The instant the action starts rolling? She can't hang on to information for longer than a second and a half. She just blunders into situations with maybe some knowledge, spills what she knows, accuses people (wrongly) left and right, and can't seem to make a logical decision to save her life. This happens consistently throughout the story.

She's also a terrible friend with zero self awareness. She withholds crucial information about her own life, then repeatedly gets bent out of shape when her friends aren't 100% forthcoming with her. She never even realizes the hypocrisy in this.

The story wasn't terrible, but none of the characters acted in a way that made any human sense to me. Teenagers and adults alike.

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Overall Not a Bad Read

Revisado: 08-21-22

Spoilers Ahead

Interesting idea, pretty cool story. Great setting. Characters were mostly likeable, even the villains were enjoyable to hate. The main character annoyed me. It was frustrating to watch her struggle with the same thing for so long.

I also had a really hard time with the head hopping. It was confusing most of the time and really stopped me from connecting to any of the characters.

When a few of the most important characters were killed off, I thought the ball was dropped emotionally speaking. As a reader, you don't really see what happens, you don't feel the characters' fear or pain, and as a result, I ended up caring less than I should have.

Finally, it got a bit preachy at times. I do NOT appreciate being lectured in a work of fiction. As a writer, if you're trying to sell me an idea, do it with the story. If you do your job well, I'll get it. I don't need it spelled out for me. Several times.

Overall, it was pretty good. I'm just disappointed because I think there was potential for it to be amazing.

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No. Absolutely Not.

Revisado: 08-18-22

SPOILERS

There is far too much awareness nowadays about abusive relationships for this book to be acceptable. I don't care that the abuse happens between a brother and sister instead of a couple.

By the end of the book, I hate the entire family and wish they were all dead. The main character's brother is the most narcissistic, selfish, arrogant, hateful, unsympathetic character I've ever come across in fiction.

Let's be clear - he is partially responsible for killing his sister's fiancee. NEVER ONCE does he have a meaningful conversation with her about it. He proceeds to spend the rest of the book browbeating his sister who is still in mourning. He mocks, criticizes, or outright disregards her drinking - NEVER ONCE asking if she is okay or if she needs help. He asks for favors then blames her when things go wrong. Whenever she tries to tell him something important - like, hey I saw your future wife with her tongue down some guy's throat - he yells at her. The epilogue is everyone at the memorial site of his lying, adultering, murdering wife. Because, come on, he still loved her. ZERO awareness or empathy that he is mourning his sister's fiancee's killer IN FRONT OF HIS SISTER.

The sister, though, is just as bad. She is so weak, so passive and submissive, it makes the story painful and frustrating. It takes way too many chapters for her to find enough backbone to confront her brother about his wife cheating. When she finally does, he gets irrationally angry and accuses her of "doing it on purpose." Instead of getting angry back or standing up for herself in any way, she says she must have been mistaken. She takes all of the abuse thrown at her by her brother and never once realizes that it is wrong and that she should not be treated that way. By the end, she has not undergone any growth or character development whatsoever.

There is no acknowledgement of the abuse. The victim does not realize how she is being treated and doesn't change. The abuser does not realize he is wrong in any way and doesn't change. The implication, then, is that the abuse is okay and should be tolerated. And that's a no thank you for me.

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Not my usual genre but I really enjoyed it

Revisado: 08-11-22

I found it to be a fun, fast moving, enjoyable story. What I would describe as a light-hearted murder mystery that did not disappoint at the end like so many do.

After hearing so many narrations that are like nails on a chalkboard, these performances were so refreshing and such a treat to listen to.

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If you're a woman, you might want to pass

Revisado: 03-17-22

*SPOILERS AHEAD!*

This is the first book I've read from this author, so I don't know if this is a "thing" with him. I'm hoping not because some of his other titles look interesting. My biggest issue with this book: I'm so fucking tired of male authors making female main characters look like dumb bitches. Is it because they don't know real women? Is it because it's easier to check those plot points off the list when idiot females can just trip and fall into them?

How Vicky became a doctor, I will never know. She's a weak character from the start and every time she tries to be firm or stand up for herself, it amounts to nothing more than a tantrum. Her decisions rarely make sense. When she accurately jumps to a conclusion, it feels ridiculous because she has exhibited no common sense leading up to such a conclusion. It was impossible to feel bad for her or even understand her.

She does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to save herself and don't even get me started on the ending. It completely disqualifies this book as horror and makes it a soap opera. I'm so glad Vicky got her happy ending while other people are still getting killed because of her.

The narration was just as bad, possibly worse. Sir. Not everything needs to be a sarcastic joke. Not ALL of the female characters have to be portrayed as bimbos or bitches. If I hated the characters in text, I hated them even more after listening to them portrayed in such a consistently offensive manner. Mostly the women.

What a disappointment.

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There is a Killer and Psychics, No Killer Psychics

Revisado: 06-17-21

So that was misleading right off the bat. Annoying, but okay. This was a situation of you get what you pay for and this was included in the membership. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't terrific.

Overall, the story moved along. Not always in ways that made sense, because as a reader, we had to be thrown off the scent. I didn't like the "twist" because I was spoonfed the red herring so hard, I was choking on it. I never appreciate that. I can tell when the author is going, "hey, hey look over here! This one's the killer, I super duper promise! Gotcha!" That gets an eye roll.

SPOILERS AHEAD!
Overall, the characters were tolerable. The teenage girl was predictable. The main character was fine. The husband, however, was a complete douche bag and NO ONE EVER ACKNOWLEDGES IT! That drove me crazy. He abandons his wife, dealing with substance abuse and who has become withdrawn - no red flags there, I suppose he's just hoping she'll be fine - with no warning. No heads up, no therapy, no intervention, just up and leaves. Within DAYS of a TRIAL SEPARATION he FUCKS A COMPLETE STRANGER! And that's it. It's never addressed. He just kinda feels bad about it. He blames his wife several times for withholding the knowledge of her pregnancy, never ONCE acknowledging the fact that he abandoned his family! Like it's a mystery she didn't track him down. And he never has that epiphany. Zero character development with him. So, I guess he'll just work on that. But thank God she took him back.

It was interesting enough so that I didn't hate myself by the time I finished it, but it didn't leave me wanting more. And I would've been just fine if the husband had met a brutal demise.

The narrator, overall, was a delight. The one thing that drove me crazy was the off beat reading of lyrics known the world over. If you're not going to sing it, at least read it on-rhythm. Everyone knows Brown Eyed Girl, damn it.

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Can't Ask for Better

Revisado: 04-27-21

Fun story with an all star cast, what more could you ask for? The pace moved at a fast clip - I kept hitting play every chance I got to see what happened next. And man, that cast. Aaron Paul needs to read everything - children's books, cook books, photography books, I don't care. The performances killed all the way around. I don't even listen to this genre normally but I'd come back for this level of quality.

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