Locust Lane is a mystery/thriller that ticked all the boxes for me from the start. A varied cast of characters, all with their own quirks and storied backgrounds, the discovery of a body, teenage suspects who clearly aren't telling the whole truth, and twists to top it off.
The writing was what hooked me at first. The author does an excellent job of fleshing out the different characters of the story, giving them so many details and interesting histories. With each new POV, I felt like I was getting to know this town and what kind of people inhabited it, who might have motives, how they connected to one another. The prose also kept me turning pages. The pacing of the story is quick, the plot moving along at a steady pace, which is great for me, because it meant that I wanted to keep reading, not put the book down. I prefer this in mystery novels, because it means that I'm usually in for a good story.
The characters are a little difficult to love, but I understand what the author is trying to do in order to keep me suspicious. A mystery novel is usually full of morally grey characters who all have some kind of motive and appear untrustworthy. A few of them were somewhat redeemable, which helped me to enjoy the story more.
What I didn't appreciate, and the reason why I'm only giving the book two stars, is that the ending is unsatisfying. Spoilers! When I read mystery/thrillers I want, in the end, for justice to prevail, for the bad guys to get caught and for the truth to come out. What the author does with this novel is he gives you, the reader, the truth, but doesn't let it come to light for everyone. A good guy goes to prison, the bad guys continue to live their lives, and everyone who knew the truth is either keeping quiet or is thought to be crazy and has no way of proving what they know. Yes, there is a suggestion that maybe something might come out later, but that's not enough for me. I don't want to speculate on whether eventually, after the novel's conclusion, the bad guys will finally be found out. I want to read it, see it happen within the pages of the story. In this way, the book just doesn't stick the landing for me.
I've see this kind of story many times. But that's typical of a mystery/thriller. It's what the author does/says with that story that either makes it stand out or makes it unmemorable. In this case, because of the ending, it feels like just another example of women getting killed, receiving no justice, and rape just becoming a tool to tell a story. There is no significance to it, it is just there to be used against female characters. Now, I know that this can be reflective of real life, but that's not why I read books. If I wanted real life, I'd read a nonfiction book about rape/sexual harassment/murder. Reading murder mystery should be satisfying, should give you the resolution deserved of the people killed. If not, then it's just violence for violence's sake and I might as well open up a newspaper and read that instead.
I would still recommend the book, with the caveat that I would mention that the ending can be unsatisfying depending on what you're looking for in a mystery book.
The writing was what hooked me at first. The author does an excellent job of fleshing out the different characters of the story, giving them so many details and interesting histories. With each new POV, I felt like I was getting to know this town and what kind of people inhabited it, who might have motives, how they connected to one another. The prose also kept me turning pages. The pacing of the story is quick, the plot moving along at a steady pace, which is great for me, because it meant that I wanted to keep reading, not put the book down. I prefer this in mystery novels, because it means that I'm usually in for a good story.
The characters are a little difficult to love, but I understand what the author is trying to do in order to keep me suspicious. A mystery novel is usually full of morally grey characters who all have some kind of motive and appear untrustworthy. A few of them were somewhat redeemable, which helped me to enjoy the story more.
What I didn't appreciate, and the reason why I'm only giving the book two stars, is that the ending is unsatisfying. Spoilers! When I read mystery/thrillers I want, in the end, for justice to prevail, for the bad guys to get caught and for the truth to come out. What the author does with this novel is he gives you, the reader, the truth, but doesn't let it come to light for everyone. A good guy goes to prison, the bad guys continue to live their lives, and everyone who knew the truth is either keeping quiet or is thought to be crazy and has no way of proving what they know. Yes, there is a suggestion that maybe something might come out later, but that's not enough for me. I don't want to speculate on whether eventually, after the novel's conclusion, the bad guys will finally be found out. I want to read it, see it happen within the pages of the story. In this way, the book just doesn't stick the landing for me.
I've see this kind of story many times. But that's typical of a mystery/thriller. It's what the author does/says with that story that either makes it stand out or makes it unmemorable. In this case, because of the ending, it feels like just another example of women getting killed, receiving no justice, and rape just becoming a tool to tell a story. There is no significance to it, it is just there to be used against female characters. Now, I know that this can be reflective of real life, but that's not why I read books. If I wanted real life, I'd read a nonfiction book about rape/sexual harassment/murder. Reading murder mystery should be satisfying, should give you the resolution deserved of the people killed. If not, then it's just violence for violence's sake and I might as well open up a newspaper and read that instead.
I would still recommend the book, with the caveat that I would mention that the ending can be unsatisfying depending on what you're looking for in a mystery book.