Ruth

Twitter has destroyed this book

Reviewed: 10-02-22

I loved the other books in the series, but this one is unhinged. Too much time submerged in the world of Twitter has warped the author's perception of what people care about and what's important for a story. It's such an embarrassing output from a writer who used to be superb.

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1 person found this helpful

Author read a psychology textbook…

Reviewed: 08-07-21

…and now we all have to suffer through it.

I had to stop listening to this book partway through. It’s strange but it reads as if the author got really into psychology (but not enough to say anything about it that makes sense) and then tried to use all his textbook notes in a novel. It’s tedious and the grasp of psychology is shallow. I wish the author had either done more thorough research or just skipped the psychology-related exposition altogether.

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1 person found this helpful

Painfully basic and pandering

Reviewed: 12-19-18

This book reads like it was written by a focus group on what "basic" women would want to read. I had to stop listening when a character uttered the line "I got these new jeggings from Anthropologie" without irony. Women are smarter than this book, and I would think that as one of these authors works in the publishing industry she would know how trite and shallow this book really is. Unfortunately, she would also know that it would sell.

Read "The Girl on the Train" or, better yet, read Tana French or Kate Atkinson or Caitlyn Moran or any of the wonderful writers who tell women's stories with intelligence and originality.

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1 person found this helpful

Thought it must be self-published

Reviewed: 06-12-18

First, I have to confess that I did not finish this book. I was so confused by the good reviews that I looked up the author to see how she could possibly have gotten this published. When I saw that she was already a successful actor, it all made sense.

This is so badly written and plotted...I don't even know where to start. I read "Behind Closed Doors" and, while I didn't think it was a great book by any means, I was pulled in by the story. This book is on a totally different level. Instead of plot, you will find a 10 minute description of a woman charging and turning on an iPhone. Nothing comes together, and no detail is of any value to the story. It reads like the random assemblage of facts Catherine Steadman found on the internet in an afternoon. Lists of names and sizes of sharks? Check. Bizarrely detailed descriptions of mundane activities? Check. Ludicrous and borderline offensive discussions of how much 2 million pounds means to a woman whose most valuable possession in this world is her 1.5 million pound house? Yup.

It shouldn't make me so angry when bad work gets published, but this takes it too far.

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284 people found this helpful

LOVED every book in the series...until this one

Reviewed: 04-09-18

So much time is spent on dead end plot lines that never get explained, and Scorcher's backstory doesn't seem to fit at all with the rest of the book. This felt like two different stories that French tried to knit together, but it didn't quite work. Many of the most intriguing elements of the story fade away unresolved. The first three novels of this series are unbelievable. Give Faithful Place a second listen and skip this one!

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2 people found this helpful

Disturbing and Unrealistic

Reviewed: 12-10-17

I wish I hadn't started listening to this book. Its FAR more disturbing than it seems, and I think its far more disturbing than the author himself realizes. It often felt like the author didn't understand his own characters, and created situations that were totally implausible. I alternated between rolling my eyes at lame cliches and feeling utterly shocked at the irresponsible depictions of mental illness in this novel.

That said, the narration is superb.

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3 people found this helpful

Insipid

Reviewed: 10-12-17

I really tried with this book, but I had to put it down. The cutesy, but actually offensive, portrayal of "Sunshine," a character with Down Syndrome, started to make me nauseous. And with only two hours to go until the end, I realized I didn't care one bit about the characters. They're flat, and Freddy doesn't seem to be a character at all--just a manifestation of someone's underdeveloped idea of a perfect young man.

The book reads like a student's first draft, and someone should have addressed this before publication. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

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44 people found this helpful

...what?

Reviewed: 08-15-17

Any additional comments?

The narration was wonderful, but the plot didn't make any sense. The whole book felt like those first few chapters when you're waiting for the story to get started. I kept thinking I must only be a few chapters in, and then suddenly it ended. What was the plot? I really don't understand. Maybe it doesn't lend itself to audio, but I have no idea what I just listened to or why.

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2 people found this helpful

No ending

Reviewed: 12-19-16

I don't understand...I was enjoying this book, and just starting to care for the characters enough to wonder how it would all come together or why we had been following these particular people when the book suddenly ended!

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36 people found this helpful

Nothing better

Reviewed: 02-28-16

Just a pitch perfect narration of one of the greatest novels ever written. Everyone should experience it

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3 people found this helpful