I debated whether to give this 2 or 3 stars. But in the end I went with 2 as I had more cons than pros when thinking about my review.

I felt this was very flat. The characters didn't have much depth to me. maybe it was how the book is set out. Having one sided letters, we never got a response or the other side to some stories.

There was mention of many important issues like rape, suicide, death and domestic violence etc but none of them went into enough depth. It was a brief mention of them then move on to the next thing. Not showing the importance of the issues. It felt like it was just a regular topic not an important one where we needed more discussion, more education.

I expected this to be a slower read than it was. But I ended up reading 70% in one sitting. Which I loved. The writing is gripping. I didn't want to put it down.
However if feels a little bit of a let down. Just because I expected it to be a lot darker and more intense. Don't get me wrong it was still enjoyable and I would recommend it. I think others may enjoy it more. I just needed more.
I also found that I wasn't making any guesses or theories which I usually do. But this was predictable to me.
I think it would of been better if it wasn't so obvious who the Closest Friend was. Knowing meant the element of surprise wasn't possible for me.

This started off a little slow for me. I found whenever I put the book down I struggled to want to pick it back up, however once I did I soon got back into it.
This book is grim with violence and intense at times, which you would expect for thus type of book. The unnerving character of the serial killer makes the atmosphere even more chilling. I found myself intrigued by Kane, the fact he couldn't feel any pain made him instantly someone to fear. How could you win a person who doesn't feel pain?
I liked that the chapters were short but you still got enough from each one. The characters of Eddie and Kane still had enough voice and power within each of the chapters.
I didn't find myself struggling to keep up with anything that came out or happened, the writing made it easy to keep track.
I'll definitely be checking out more by Steve in the future.

This took around half the book for me to fully get into it. Partially because I wasn't fully focused on the book as I was doing other things while reading. Which is never good for me. However the second half fully captivated me.

I didn't see the twist coming. Infact I had suspected someone else. I don't think I suspected the actual person once throughout the whole book.

I think I would of enjoyed this more, especially the first half, had I listened in audiobook format. With it being set out as a podcast interview I think audiobook would of brought it to life a lot better. Maybe I'll buy the audio add on to my kindle or if my library ever get it in audiobook. I'd be interested in seeing how much more I take in listening rather than reading.

I don't know why this took me 6 days to read. I loved it. I didn't want to put it down. I'm excited to read Thunderhead asap.

I'm not surprised at how quickly I got into this. Riley's writing is captivating. The way he describes the scenes and situations leaves you wanting more. His characters and setting come alive.
The story is told by switching from past to present. I found it blended perfectly. We travelled back 15 years are the right moments. Giving us the clues for what the truth would be.
The twist at around 66% shocked me. At first I had thought it was Emma thinking back, which I think was what Riley wanted. This added another lair of suspense and mystery. I was more intrigued. I even started questioning Emma and if she was involved.
Even the twist at the end was a shock to me. Although when thinking back the clues were there I just missed them.

I didn't struggle to get into this, I just struggled to be intrigued. It felt kind of flat.
I'm left a little disappointed. I found myself not really caring. The synposis intrigued me, I expected a suspense novel but this lacked suspense.
I figured out the ending pretty much, just not Debbie's reason. I knew who was involved.
I also feel the "cheating" was just added to bring extra drama but it felt pointless. Especially because of what the truth was. I found it didn't add anything to the story.