The Girls in the Garden
Ratings39
Average rating3.3
A captivating read, but anyone who's read a couple mystery books could've guessed the ending halfway through the novel. I was hoping for something more complicated and unexpected but the ending fell flat.
This was average, but I liked how cozy the writing felt. The end surprised me a little, but it didn't give enough suspense to get there.
This was so disappointing. I skimmed through a lot of the boring filler and rolled my eyes at the annoying red herrings. Lisa is usually a great author, but this one was terrible.
This was so disappointing. I skimmed through a lot of the boring filler and rolled my eyes at the annoying red herrings. Lisa is usually a great author, but this one was terrible.
3.5 stars this is a perfectly good book. It's more of a slower suspense novel and the ending is just as slow? Quiet? It doesn't make you go “wow”. One thing that bugged me was the way these 12-13 yo kids talked and thought. They were way too mature just to move along the plot and it always took me out of the story.
So Lisa Jewell's writing is great. Good writing.
However, these are very much more unsettling family dramas than thrillers in my opinion. With a very common theme of neglectful mother's throughout all the books I've read.
Not something I can really binge read so I'm going to take a bit of a break before trying to tackle more of her backlist.
This one in particular really didn't work for me. I found it boring and the ending really unsatisfactory.
Het beste personage in gans dit boek was een twaalfjarig meisje, het enige personage waar ik iets voor voelde. Het tweede beste personage was de locatie.
Alle andere personages waren onvoldoende uitgewerkt, compleet ongeloofwaardig of overdreven onsympathiek.
De plot was heel veel opbouw, voor een leeg en ontgoochelend einde.
Als lezer worden we overduidelijk een bepaalde richting in geduwd, zodat je zeker weet dat dit het niet zal zijn. De uiteindelijke ontknoping is nog wel ok, ware het niet dat er niks van weerslag is en er krampachtig naar een gelukkig einde wordt gewerkt. Ik voorzie vooral heel veel trauma's en onaangepaste volwassenen in die kinderen hun toekomst...
Lisa Jewell is really a marvel. This book is full of twists and turns and different characters and background stories, and even with the time twists it mostly happens in a six month period in over three houses. Way to go. I was terribly curious and very afraid of what was gonna be the ending, but she wrapped it up beautifully. Good book.
If you're looking for a summer page-turner, The Girls in the Garden is a title to add to your list! I started reading this one a bit slowly, but when I got to about half way, I couldn't put it down and had to finish it that day. Jewell is clearly a masterful suspenseful storyteller, and I'd pick up any other works by her in a heartbeat.
Full review at http://www.literaryquicksand.com/2016/06/review-girls-garden-lisa-jewell/