Average Thriller with Podcast Twist

filled star filled star filled star star unfilled star unfilled
brittsbookclub Avatar

By

I am usually a fan of thrillers that involve podcasts, but for me, this book was average. There wasn’t much focus on the podcast side of things, which was a bit disappointing, and I actually figured out the ending about halfway through the book. I can usually never guess what happens, so I was a bit bummed out that I was able to figure it out so easily this time around.

The Story: The story was actually pretty interesting and seemed to have a lot going on with a number of different elements involved. For some reason, I enjoy thrillers that involve high school aged kids, so this one was right up my alley. I think what was missing for me was the involvement of the podcast. I expected more since it had been discussed in the synopsis of the book, but it wasn’t a main focus of the novel (and I’m sure there are plenty of people who are just fine with that). I wanted more! I enjoyed that there were definitely some creepy and twisted aspects to the story (hello very first journal entry!), but again, the fact that I was able to figure out the ending so quickly was a bit disappointing.

The Characters: There were quite a few characters and didn’t seem to be a specific main character, so it was hard to get a read on all of them. I did enjoy Rory’s character because she was presented as someone with a mental health disorder who found ways of coping with it and actually using it for her career. Because there were so many characters, I felt that the rest weren’t given much depth or unique characteristics. This was fine with me because if we had gone into detail on each character, it would have made for a large and boring book!

The Writing: The book was written by switching between the present day investigation into the Westmont Prep Murders and the days leading up to the murders the year before. Charlie Donlea utilizes journal entries, blog and podcasts posts, and more to complete this novel. I loved the use of the journal entries as we were given a glimpse into the inner workings of “someone’s” mind. The chapters were extremely short, which is always something I enjoy!

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it was by no means a favorite of mine. This one was an average thriller for me! However, if you like thrillers, you should still check this one out and form your own opinion.