Jad
Honestly, I can easily see the deeper meanings and themes within this book, but I was faaar too bored to care about analysing and looking deeper myself. Just came across to me as a pretentious old guy, showing definite signs of the times throughout.
I will say there are a lot of good quotes and great moments, however, fleeting...
What a waffler
why am I getting emotional
loved seeing the backstories from the citizens and chishiya being a genius as usual
niragi wtf dude
also
“I can rise to the almighty position of joker and oversee this world”um excuse me??? you what now? is this gonna be season 3?
As someone with severe social anxiety, agoraphobia and trichotillomania this book creeped me out in a different way to others perhaps. I used to feel so anxious that there was someone hiding in my cellar or in rooms in the house no one went in, so the stalking of the strange man also got to me.
I enjoyed some of the philosophical aspects of this book but some conversations and scenes just seemed to drone on for too long. I really struggled with the school chapters as it felt quite repetitive when it should have been the most tense past of the book... I was bored.
The ending was meh, I thought throughout that it was odd the only name we had was Jake and that the woman was the stalker because it made sense we didn't know either of their names.
My favourite part was at the parents farm but there's no explanation for the whole basement section or her overhearing the parents, except to creep out and give some exposition to the reader...
Another thing I didn't like about this book, as someone with the issues stated above, was that the commentary on solitude and loneliness means why not rush to the end of living? This left a really sour taste in my mouth (bit ironic) as I've had thoughts of “If I suddenly died by accident, people probably wouldn't notice for weeks” that thought scares me, but if we're going off this book and my interpretation of it, this character could possibly see that as an out, which then leads me to question why he died in a school? Where children could find him????
Yeah, maybe I'm not the target audience for this, maybe it's aimed at people who's biggest fear is being alone and the message is to cherish the people around them, otherwise they might aswell not exist
I'm going to watch the adaptation and see if my opinion changes, but I somehow doubt it
okay so the film was sooo much better, but I did also like Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind so that makes sense, still has the dreary mind numbing scenes which i still didn't like, but it was still much better
This was a great, fun, and twisty read.
I loved the sass between both poirot and Giraud and the teasing with Hastings. The twist after twist after twist was fun, and with all my guesses of whodunit, I possibly guessed the murderer at some point but was thrown off several times and ended up being shocked and satisfied by the ending.
“Is he not a splendid fellow? I call him Giraud!”
chef's kiss
I did it! I guessed who the murderer was!
I was a little disappointed as I had the idea planted during the foreword and introduction in my copy. I thought about how it would be an interesting twist if it was the narrator being the murderer, then when he never actually said he closed the window? Curtains. No pun intended.
The twists along the way were still fun, and good ol' poirot is always a lovely time. Just wish I hadn't read the introduction/foreword and could see if I would have figured it out otherwise
a relatively new reader but this is the first time I've audibly said “NO.” and had to put the book down
I wanted to stop reading just before the end because I didn't want the inevitable to happen. (When I read They Both Die At The End I fully stopped reading for 8 months because I wasn't ready)
However, the characters didn't have that luxury so it felt fitting to carry on as I was begging the time to slow down.
A beautifully written book, I didn't realise who Rufus was until Mateo seeing him with his bike and then I felt silly
I do want to know who the other 11 Deckers were and how Joaquin knew there would be 12?
Why did this take me so long to pick up and start reading?!? This was so good
Desperately need this to be made into a film/series
I have a couple of questions;
- Where did Pip's phone go? I kept thinking that maybe it was in Jasons car or in one of his pockets and that would be how she got caught but it never turned up
- Why did Pip feel the need to have SIX whole burner phones?
- How come her lawyer didn't try to contact her AT ALL after the meeting in the first few chapters?
- What was Max's supposed motive for killing Jason?
- At what point do we think Pip would go “Hm, the threats are getting a bit too close together, maybe I won't go on a run alone today” Not victim blaming, we should be able to run whenever we want
- Pip's brother mentioned someone watching their house, why was this NEVER mentioned again??????
look behind the curtain and see what would be a twist to people on the other side, if they did catch pip, that would be a big plot twist to Little Kilton
I knew it was going to be Jason Bell as I saw a reddit comment saying that he's the one who killed barney so quickly put two and two together
Because of this I was worried that I was reading for a long time for no reason so the “twist” for me became her killing him and then covering that up
I also thought it was a little cheesy having book 1 at the end for the whole “the end is the beginning” spiel
I found it a bit challenging to keep track of all the characters and their connections; this may be more of a personal issue than a flaw in the book, as it is very character-heavy.
Since we only spent a short time with the villain, the twist ending didn't have much of an impact on me, especially since they played a relatively minor role in the plot.
The romance between Pip and Ravi is sweet and understated, although it sometimes felt a bit random, particularly considering how calm Ravi remained throughout. Then I remembered everything that he and his family had experienced, which made it clear that his demeanor made sense. It's great for Pip to have solid support when she feels unstable.
Overall, it was an easy and enjoyable read with a bittersweet ending. I just wish Max had gotten shot, though.
I absolutely love the little call-backs and easter eggs from Pip's other books.
(Ew at Elliott Ward giving them a lift back at the end. 3 at the mention of barney and <3 at the mention of Ravi and Pip deciding her EPQ topic
A fun little read, very low stakes (obviously!) with it being a murder mystery party, still got creeped out in the cellar and adored Pip's Poirot moment at the end followed by a tantrum which is exactly chefs kiss so pip
live laugh love Poirot Fitz-Amobi
A collection of short stories with Poirot and Hastings at the helm.
This is my first time reading a short story collection and I don't think they're for me, each story was quite interesting but with the knowledge it's going to be solved in a few pages just lead to me not being as invested in the story.
Would be good for a commuter reading in short bursts, or if you're trying to get out of the “one more chapter” cycle before bed
He deserved it and im glad johnno got framed
Was a struggle to get into but lots of twists and turns through the second half. Absolutely hated the characters in each of their intro chapters.
Wanted to have more Hannah and Olivia chats after discovering everything
Im a big fan of all the agatha christie inspired games, and I remember playing a pc game with my mum when I was much younger, only vaguely remembering the isolated and fast-paced disappearance of the characters. I did not remember the twist at all, and having only recently gotten into books, I read this in 2 days. Definitely keeps you guessing, but never 100% sure. I can see myself rereading, but first, I'm going to gather some more of her works!
Holly Jackson is one of my favourite authors, always giving us an easily digestible story with a lot of mystery and nuance throughout.
Having read the agggtm series, I did spot a few similarities - No one ever believe Holly if she says she's fine. Pip and Red are so similar in their thought patterns, especially with being distracted by their ptsd, but they're also different in their backstories, it was a little frustrating as I'd be really into the story and then Pip would pop up in my imagination instead of Red.
I did guess that Arthur would be involved in it all but I'd only guessed he'd have the secret, just because he was the most likeable character and that always sets off red flags for me as a reader in a story like this. Although with how everything panned out, he wasn't really the big bad villain as it would be easy for an author to lean on. I think that's why I like Holly Jacksons books so much, there's so much nuance that the bad guys aren't really that bad and the good guys aren't really that good Oliver is the true villain in this, he was so ready to sacrifice everyone in that van for his own sake, like mother like son I guess. And yet, he was not involved in anything that put them in the situation so technically he's not at fault, just an awful selfish human being and thankfully he had a satisfying ending.
Any greys anatomy fans: Did anyone else's imagination of Catherine Lavoy change to Catherine Fox as the book went on?
I did find that the story dragged on at times when they were trying out different escape attempts as they were described in more detail than necessary, but I also understand that the pages long explanation was so you felt the time moving along as though you're actually in the situation aswell, it just got a bit old after a while cause you knew it wouldn't work.
The twists and turns at the end made this book worth reading until the end, and it definitely did not disappoint. If you're looking for an easy read, which makes you feel a little scared, upset for the characters and left feeling satisfied with the outcome, this is the book for you.