I have read three other John Marrs books, and this novel was godawful compared to the other ones. It felt so rushed, and like there was a stupid plot twist around every corner just for the hell of it.  I’m in the short shops with lots of hooks and plot twist is characteristic of his work, but this book lacked finesse. The writing was so clunky, and lots of the dialogue was just horrible. If this were the first of Marrs’ books I had ever read, I probably would never have tried another one, which is insane cuz I really enjoy his more recent work. 

The characterizations were laughably bad in some parts. One example is

Savannah’s dad, who was cartoonishly evil and racist. He was supposed to be a corrupt preacher but then basically was more like a fucking mafioso instead. I found it ridiculous that he whacked Michael in the head with a mallet, and Michael not only survived that attack but retained the mental faculties to sell out Savannah. I also wasn’t a fan of Ruth’s story. The way people treated her because she was considered unattractive and overweight grossed me out. Like I get that that’s actually realistic cuz people are fatphobic, but it read really poorly in 2025. I also didn’t feel satisfied with Savannah’s rapist, just dying of a stroke never thinking he’d done anything wrong to her. His ass should’ve rotted in jail.