John
This was my first Riley Sager novel. I've heard you either love him or hate him. I did not love him.
I agree with most of the criticisms I've seen for this book: slow, boring at times, a flat hero, almost DNF'd, etc. That's all true. And more.
I'm willing to forgive all that.
But, when you deliver two major reveals, back-to-back on the same page nonetheless, they'd better be tight. When you go where Sager does here--dead husband is actually the serial killer the cops are looking for, and he's dead because our hero killed him, and he's a ghost who just possessed the missing girl--it needs to be believable.
I'm not talking about suspending disbelief. Okay, this guy's a ghost now. Also, our hero killed him. Fine. Tell me he was actually in outer space the whole time. I don't really care.
But this story is told in first-person. We are inside Casey's head the entire time. Which means that we have access to her thoughts, and there's no way that this wouldn't have crossed her mind on page 7.
The reveal cannot be something that has been inside of the hero's head the entire time, when I've also been inside the hero's head the entire time. There is a difference between being mislead for fun and being lied to for convenience.
It's a cheap trick, and it's a gaping hole in an otherwise weird, fairly enjoyable if sometimes boring story about an obsessive alcoholic woman and the ghost husband she killed last summer.
I like the fact that this thing turned and went somewhere I didn't think it would go. I like how it was actually a different story than the one I thought I was reading. But the whole thing pivots on a huge reveal that just feels underhanded. An unreliable narrator, I can accept. But I have to draw the line at an unreliable author.
To be fair, I am now seeing that this appears to be one of his worst-liked books, and I would honestly give him another shot. But this one is not recommended.
This was my first Riley Sager novel. I've heard you either love him or hate him. I did not love him.
I agree with most of the criticisms I've seen for this book: slow, boring at times, a flat hero, almost DNF'd, etc. That's all true. And more.
I'm willing to forgive all that.
But, when you deliver two major reveals, back-to-back on the same page nonetheless, they'd better be tight. When you go where Sager does here--dead husband is actually the serial killer the cops are looking for, and he's dead because our hero killed him, and he's a ghost who just possessed the missing girl--it needs to be believable.
I'm not talking about suspending disbelief. Okay, this guy's a ghost now. Also, our hero killed him. Fine. Tell me he was actually in outer space the whole time. I don't really care.
But this story is told in first-person. We are inside Casey's head the entire time. Which means that we have access to her thoughts, and there's no way that this wouldn't have crossed her mind on page 7.
The reveal cannot be something that has been inside of the hero's head the entire time, when I've also been inside the hero's head the entire time. There is a difference between being mislead for fun and being lied to for convenience.
It's a cheap trick, and it's a gaping hole in an otherwise weird, fairly enjoyable if sometimes boring story about an obsessive alcoholic woman and the ghost husband she killed last summer.
I like the fact that this thing turned and went somewhere I didn't think it would go. I like how it was actually a different story than the one I thought I was reading. But the whole thing pivots on a huge reveal that just feels underhanded. An unreliable narrator, I can accept. But I have to draw the line at an unreliable author.
To be fair, I am now seeing that this appears to be one of his worst-liked books, and I would honestly give him another shot. But this one is not recommended.
Creepy, atmospheric read, with an ending twist that I'm not sure if I like.
I'll keep this as spoiler-free as I can at this point. This thing is 200 pages, and man, does it do a lot in those pages. In a good way. As the story unfolds, there are more and more events that are simply....off-putting. It does a very good job with keeping tension and creating atmosphere. I read along with the audiobook at about 1.5 (for some reason, these audiobooks are always slow). However, about 80 pages out, I slowed down and really took in those pages. It was great. And the last few lines of the novel seem to be instructions to the reader, to read it again, with all of this newfound information regarding life, love, philosophy, psychology, etc. And I love that. There are a lot of things this book has going for it. I had a dream about it last night, and I don't generally dream of books or movies, etc., so it definitely stayed with me.
The twist, I'm just not sure that I like it, to be honest. I'm mulling it over.
Creepy, atmospheric read, with an ending twist that I'm not sure if I like.
I'll keep this as spoiler-free as I can at this point. This thing is 200 pages, and man, does it do a lot in those pages. In a good way. As the story unfolds, there are more and more events that are simply....off-putting. It does a very good job with keeping tension and creating atmosphere. I read along with the audiobook at about 1.5 (for some reason, these audiobooks are always slow). However, about 80 pages out, I slowed down and really took in those pages. It was great. And the last few lines of the novel seem to be instructions to the reader, to read it again, with all of this newfound information regarding life, love, philosophy, psychology, etc. And I love that. There are a lot of things this book has going for it. I had a dream about it last night, and I don't generally dream of books or movies, etc., so it definitely stayed with me.
The twist, I'm just not sure that I like it, to be honest. I'm mulling it over.
Creepy, atmospheric read, with an ending twist that I'm not sure if I like.
I'll keep this as spoiler-free as I can at this point. This thing is 200 pages, and man, does it do a lot in those pages. In a good way. As the story unfolds, there are more and more events that are simply....off-putting. It does a very good job with keeping tension and creating atmosphere. I read along with the audiobook at about 1.5 (for some reason, these audiobooks are always slow). However, about 80 pages out, I slowed down and really took in those pages. It was great. And the last few lines of the novel seem to be instructions to the reader, to read it again, with all of this newfound information regarding life, love, philosophy, psychology, etc. And I love that. There are a lot of things this book has going for it. I had a dream about it last night, and I don't generally dream of books or movies, etc., so it definitely stayed with me.
The twist, I'm just not sure that I like it, to be honest. I'm mulling it over.
Creepy, atmospheric read, with an ending twist that I'm not sure if I like.
I'll keep this as spoiler-free as I can at this point. This thing is 200 pages, and man, does it do a lot in those pages. In a good way. As the story unfolds, there are more and more events that are simply....off-putting. It does a very good job with keeping tension and creating atmosphere. I read along with the audiobook at about 1.5 (for some reason, these audiobooks are always slow). However, about 80 pages out, I slowed down and really took in those pages. It was great. And the last few lines of the novel seem to be instructions to the reader, to read it again, with all of this newfound information regarding life, love, philosophy, psychology, etc. And I love that. There are a lot of things this book has going for it. I had a dream about it last night, and I don't generally dream of books or movies, etc., so it definitely stayed with me.
The twist, I'm just not sure that I like it, to be honest. I'm mulling it over.
