First line: They found the bodies on a Tuesday.
From the blurb: After a late night of partying, NYU student Matt Pine returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family—his mom, his dad, his little brother and sister—have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico. The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain.
The tragedy makes headlines everywhere because this isn’t the first time the Pine family has been thrust into the media spotlight. Matt’s older brother, Danny—currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend Charlotte—was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. Though the country has rallied behind Danny, Matt holds a secret about his brother that he’s never told anyone: the night Charlotte was killed Matt saw something that makes him believe his brother is guilty of the crime.
My thoughts: This mystery is told through multiple points-of-view that alternate between the past (before Matt's family died) and the present. And though it's well-written, I would have preferred sticking with Matt's POV in the present for more of the book rather than having all those flashbacks interrupting the flow of the narrative. But it's the past narratives with Matt's dad, mom and younger sister, Maggie, that dominate the story. And while all the POVs and layers from the past are interesting, I didn't find them particularly suspenseful.
Melody @ Melody's Reading Corner and I read this one together and it was fun trying to figure out what really happened to Charlotte and to Matt's family with her. Not that we had a lot of clues to go on. It's not until the very end that all the pieces of this mystery get put together and the truth is revealed. And I have to admit, I was a little underwhelmed by the supposed twist at the end. Every Last Fear is well-plotted, the writing is good, and I did like it, but it just wasn't quite as thrilling as I hoped it would be. For me, it's a solid 3-star read. Be sure to check out Melody's review to see her opinion of this one! And thanks again, Melody, for reading this one with me. It was fun.
Happy Reading!
Melody's questions for me:
1. There's a combination of suspense, conspiracies, and family drama in this book. What did you enjoy most about the story? I enjoyed all the action scenes in the present with Matt the most. He's a great character, and he's the reason I wanted to keep reading. I just wanted more of his story!
2. Who was your favorite and least favorite member of the Pine family (and why)?
Besides Matt, my favorite character was his younger sister, Maggie. She was spunky, and a good detective, and so smart; all of which made her death even more sad. And I didn't like Evan Pine, Matt's father very much; he was so consumed with saving Danny all those years that the rest of his family suffered because of it, especially Matt.
We'd had fun discussing this book, hadn't we? :D I think I enjoyed this book a bit more than you; though I think it'd be great if there's a balance between the present and the past. I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on "The Night Shift" if you get to it, Lark. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're right; I liked this one, but I didn't love it. But I think that's mostly because shifting timelines and POVs isn't my favorite way to tell a story...and that's just my own personal preference. But I had fun reading this one with you. :D
DeleteAs I said to Melody on her blog, I love these duo-reads that you two do. So nice to get both of your perspectives because my reading lists often have a lot in common with each of yours. I've had this one on my TBR for a bit. Maybe later this fall.
ReplyDeleteIt's very readable, and I liked the characters. And I'm curious to know what you think of it now, too! :)
DeleteMy current read is also a thriller with shifting POV's that I'm finding incredibly underwhelming. Maybe I read too many thrillers, but it feels like a lot of them are relying on overused cliches of the genre. I just need to find one that really knocks my socks off!
ReplyDeleteI agree! I've been finding it hard to find really thrilling thrillers, too. But I keep trying.
DeleteWow, this one sounds interesting. Sometimes then and now perspectives can be overdone and I prefer just one timeline, but even so, I bet it was exciting to try to figure out the mysteries.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good read, but shifting POVs and timelines aren't my favorite way to tell a story, which is why I didn't love this one.
DeleteBummer about it being underwhelming, but I'm glad Matt's scenes were good for you. Fun that you buddy read it.
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun buddy read. And I did really like Matt. :)
DeleteA thriller without a lot of thrills, but at least you enjoyed the mystery.
ReplyDeleteThe mystery was interesting. There just wasn't a lot of suspense, and the ending was underwhelming, I thought.
DeleteThat's quite the first line! That's too bad the different POVs didn't work. It always drives me crazy when I really love one POV but am kind of meh on the other one. It feels like such a waste!
ReplyDeleteMultiple POVs can be tricky; I don't always love them. But I do love that first line.
DeleteI would've rather had the present POV for the whole book, too. The past was sad to me because you knew going in what had happened. I read another by her and it was a sad read for me too.
ReplyDeleteThat's it exactly. Already knowing what happens to Matt's family lessens all the suspense. And then the suspenseful moments with Matt were few and far between. It's too bad, because the author does write well.
DeleteThat first line definitely makes me curious for more! It's a bummer that it wasn't as thrilling as it could've been though.
ReplyDeleteIt should just be billed as a mystery, because that's really what it turns out to be. NOT a page-turning thriller.
DeleteIt's always a bit of a shame when you can see a book could've been better if done a different way. Like it's a waste of a good plot idea. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI just felt there was no suspense with any of his family members past POVs, because you know from the first page that they're already dead. So there was no tension there, if you know what I mean.
DeleteThank you for sharing. Regine
ReplyDeleteHi, Regine! :D
DeleteThis is one I want to read. It's interesting you only wanted the one POV.
ReplyDeleteIt was the only POV with tension to it, because you already knew what happened to his family members, so reading their past POVs gave you some information, but no real suspense. At least it didn't for me. But this novel is well written.
DeleteMultiple POV's can be tough. Especially when there's one POV that mainly has your interest and that's the one you want more of!
ReplyDeleteAnd for some reason I always seem to want more of the POV that's written about least. ;D
DeleteToo many POV's can be hard. Not being very suspenseful when you want it to be isn't much fun either.
ReplyDeleteEven though this story was well-written, it just wasn't that suspenseful.
DeleteThis sounds good but I can definitely see where too many POVs would be confusing.
ReplyDeleteIt's not so much confusing, as it just lessens the tension and suspense.
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