Well. This won't take long. As much as I thought this book was a complete waste of my time, there isn't even much criticism to dish out as absolutely nothing happened.
I didn't have high expectations, predicting 3 stars. This was the winner of my 'lowest rated' prompt, however the blurbs saying it inevitably had to be compared to Gone Girl which kept me holding on to hope that this book was going to be up my street.
This follows the dissolution of Todd and Jodi's marriage. A domestic psychological thriller, apparently. Clearly by my adoration of Gillian Flynn's hit, I thought of myself as fan of this kind of book. But this one definitely didn't make the cut.
Firstly, Todd and Jodi are completely unlikeable. We all remember Nick and Amy both being complete psychopaths, but I thought they were both fantastic. Jodi and Todd on the other hand, have absolutely no depth. Todd is a typical 'grass is always greener on the other side' sort of guy when it comes to his marriage, so has an affair. And Jodi seems to have zero opinions or feelings about it. Every chapter is written from either his or her's perspective...but not really. As the entire book is written in 3rd person and we never have any insight into what the characters are thinking or feeling, therefore never distinguishing any motives of why they are making the choices they are making (not that more than one or two choices are ever made during this book). The result for me as a reader? - my empathy was out the window. I am all in when it comes to a revenge plot on an adulterous husband, but I cannot stress this enough. N.O.T.H.I.N.G. H.A.P.P.E.N.S. I give up.
I was on page 100, and then 150, and then 200, 250, 300! Desperately waiting for one single thrill and got no relief. There is nothing about this book that could put it into the thriller category, so fans of this genre will be bitterly disappointed. How this book has the audacity to compare itself to Gone Girl, I will never understand. Please spend your time watching paint dry; it will be more thrilling.
Initial Prediction: 3 stars Final Rating: 1 star Publication Date: 25 June 2013 Publisher: Penguin Books (my edition: headline)
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