GOOD HALF GONE
Tarryn Fisher
First, let me say, I was a big fan before I read GOOD HALF GONE. Second, I STILL AM.
GOOD HALF GONE stars Iris. Iris’s sister was kidnapped right in front of her eyes. Iris has had a lot of trouble getting over her sister’s disappearance. She has built her life around the sequences of that horrible day her sister was kidnapped. And many years later it is still the most horrible thing that ever happened to her.
We meet up with Iris when she goes undercover at a local mental hospital to get information about her sister’s disappearance. We follow as secrets are uncovered and motives are revealed in Tarryn Fisher’s GOOD HALF GONE.
GOOD HALF GONE didn’t work for me. The characters’ quirkiness was distracting and caused a tonal shift that I did not appreciate in a thriller. Each character seemed to be constructed by throwing a dart at a wall. All those elaborate details detracted from the story. It felt almost comedic.
Nothing in the synopsis led me to believe humor would be involved in a kidnapping scenario.
I am a big Tarryn Fisher fan and I have followed her career for years. I want her to win, it’s just not happening this time with this one. I’ll still be here requesting, reserving, buying, reading, and discussing her work.
Thanks to Libro.fm and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House for the advanced copies!
GOOD HALF GONE…⭐⭐⭐
THE MAIN CHARACTER
Jaclyn Goldis
Are you THE MAIN CHARACTER in your life?
Invited on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, a leisurely train ride across Italy with planned idyllic stops, and promised relaxation amidst the ultimate in luxury land travel on the revamped ORIENT EXPRESS, Rory cannot wait. She wants to be THE MAIN CHARACTER in her life, and she thinks this trip is the beginning of being just that.
She’s looking forward to sipping tea window side, people watching, and maybe losing herself somewhere between the pages of a great book.
But when she shows up it is obvious that someone has something else in mind entirely. Shortly after her arrival other passengers, and familiar passengers start to arrive. Her brother, ex-fiancé, and best friend. Something is underfoot, and we follow along as Rory figures out exactly what that is.
THE MAIN CHARACTER was straightforward, and I can’t imagine it’s going to surprise many readers. The storyline is used without enough of a deviation from the original to be warranted.
The writing is not inspiring and combined with a storyline most people know well (considering the famous novel and several following adaptations) it just didn’t work. Without plot or language, there isn’t much left except for THE MAIN CHARACTER by Jaclyn Goldis.
Thanks to Netgalley, Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the advanced copy!
THE MAIN CHARACTER…⭐⭐
THE BLUE HOUR
Paula Hawkins
I want to like her books, more than I do. I want my reading experiences to feel like I’m drinking to the point of drowning, all I am is thirsty.
“There’s nothing left here to decode.”
Sabrina Carpenter
THE BLUE HOUR stars Vanessa and Grace. There are other characters but these two are the only ones you need to remember. All that’s left of Vanessa are her journals, her art, and a knot of unresolved yearning in Grace’s stomach. And now a mystery surrounding her life’s work. All of it feels like an exercise in grief, none of it will feel like a resolution.
The questions raised feel like tilling a grave, and Grace dies a little every time. Will the truth ever be uncovered, or will it continue to be cast afloat, forever unmoored?
I keep going back to her although nothing has worked for me like THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN did. My reading experiences between now and then have been cold (INTO THE WATER), and hot (A SLOW FIRE BURNING), this one is right in the middle.
The material is not that interesting to me. It felt tepid and uninspiring. The characters feel inauthentic, doing and saying things that don’t reconcile. The thriller, not thrilling, the mystery, not mysterious, the writing has nothing to notate, not much to read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Mariner Books for the advanced copy!
THE BLUE HOUR…⭐️⭐️⭐️
