Ryan

An incredible end to the series. Like the rest of the books it has some parts that are pretty graphic but nothing seems thrown in for simply shock value. Everything leads to a story payoff. Overall I think the series started a little slow but got better as it went on and by the third book was extremely engaging from the very beginning.

An easy recommendation for anyone who enjoys suspense and can deal with a few graphic scenes.

I enjoyed the writing but was turned off by some of the generalization of Mexico. It felt very focused on providing an outside perspective of life in Mexico but sometimes the “insights” cane across as wrong or stereotypical. For instance in the third or fourth story the line “the older men - say about fifty-five - they don't care about being faithful to their wives.” This is a sweeping generalization that is relatively problematic.

I went into this book expecting a thriller with some good plot twists. What I got was an absolute page turner that hooked me early on, had several twists, and was tight with suspense. It has been pitched as being similar to Gone Girl and I can see why people would name check that title. It has the drama, it has the sex, it has the violence, and it has the tension.

An absolute easy recommendation and a killer read.

This is what True Detectives should have been. This story needs made into a TV series ASAP.

This has been, hands down, the best book for girls nearing the middle school grades. As for my bias: I have a daughter who is starting middle school next year and my wife skates derby - so we are familiar with the sport.

That being said, this book was basically a love letter to the lessons kids this age need to learn and with which they will struggle:

Cliques
Bullying
Not judging someone by their looks
Standing up for yourself
Families with absent parents
Friends with different backgrounds (cultural or SES)
Being raised by a grandparent
Taking responsibility for mistakes
Perseverance
Being ok with being an outsider
Older siblings taking care of younger ones
Having an interest in a boy
Non-traditional families


Now whether a child of the target age would pick up on all the themes is something else entirely. But as far as I am concerned this is the best JF I have read in years. Highly recommended.