Well written but wishy washy with too many themes

I loved every minute of "The Blue", found "Last Seen" fell flat and could never get into "The Sea Sisters" ....... but this latest offering from Lucy Clarke seemed so very promising and a return to form as far as I was concerned.
The premise was exciting and fresh with AirB&B being so current.
I also liked the way it was set on a clifftop in Cornwall and described the lifestyle of a successful writer.
Insomnia brought an extra frisson of potential brooding atmosphere as did the ticking clock of an overdue manuscript
So far so good.
But then the suspense and tension just failed to ramp up - partly due to fairly grim narration which was so drawn out it needed to be played at a faster speed to be bearable. It was basically half speed of the regular narration which made chopping and changing a real chore. Main narration was fine apart from a few gaffs like the pronunciation of Nobel (Prize Winning) as Noble.
Looking back I should have guessed any book featuring a newly built house which was supported by metal struts jutting from the cliffs it perched on was unlikely ... implausible and unbelievable and that just about sums up the whole book which for me was devoid of thrills - unless you count the metal struts which could have given way at any time.
Too many themes of past misdeeds over many years being offered as the cause of the mysterious events which were not really very dramatic like thinking there was someone on a beach looking at your house on the cliffs or thinking there was someone coming to the door who had not come by car.
All the things that people could be coming back to avenge were all quite tepid like the mysterious events.
However my main beef is that the thing the protagonist was accused of being was just inaccurate - this was just so we could not rule out any of the past misdeeds and just sloppy and could have been handled much better by perhaps some broader insult being levelled at her instead of something which was not really the reason the person was angry with her.
Things then got as ridiculous and contrived as the metal spikes supporting the cliff house.
I left the book running as I popped in and out before I just switched off as had had enough and I was just amazed at all the snippets of forced coincidences, random non related events.
I was amazed at who the mysterious hater was but only really as it was so unbelievable.
Luke warm scares, tedious revelations, things which seemed threatening but weren't.
People who are scared but leave their phones out of reach and make sure they have no way to call for help only really have themselves to blame and it was then I just lost all interest in author Elle,
In fact she did seem so dull, that being menaced in a quiet "maybe it happened maybe it didn't " way was probably a blessing lifting the daily tedious grind.
What a shame it all started so well and this is a talented story teller and skilled writer but it all just fell flat - then tried to save itself with far fetched shenanigans which went as far as to defy the laws of nature let alone human nature
Much ado about nothing really and more of a damp squib than thriller.
At least it won't not keep you up at night ....

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3 people found this helpful

Outstanding!!

To be honest I had seen this book on audible and it had never appealed to me, not sure why, then I started to struggle to find any books I wanted to listen to so thought I would give this a go! I am so glad I did, it was brilliant from start to finish! loads of twists and turns and kept me guessing! I couldn't put it down finished it in about 2 days, listened to it everywhere I went and didn't want it to end! narration great, characters great and story great! Have since listened to another one of this authors, finished that and am now on a third

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You let me in

This book needed editing. The reader pronounced gauche as gorch and timbre as timber. i think writing about a writer or say painter as the main character is always tricky. The story is rather tedious. There are no poplar trees in Cornwall. I am not sure if i will finish listening to it.

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2 people found this helpful

Boring boring boring

Couldn’t wait for this to end ! I was determined to listen it out . The narrator was good , but as for the story long winded and very boring . The last 2 hours was most definitely the best .

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Wow- amazing story!!

Best book I've listened to in a while!! I highly recommend for anyone who enjoys a gripping psychological thriller! I could not stop listening to it as the story was so intense and well written.

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A thrilling, nerve jangling story...

A roller coaster of a story brilliantly narrated. The characters all well defined and credible. The narration kept up the tension obviously intended by the author, leading the listener further and further into the dark corners of Elle’s nightmare. Thoroughly recommend.

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Disappointed

I was looking forward to this book after enjoying Castaways but I was so bored. Narration was good but the storyline was predictable and waffled on for far too long. Didn’t enjoy at all.

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Gripping

This book Kept me guessing right until the end! Can’t wait to read her next book!

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Disappointing

I’ve enjoyed this author’s other books but found this one to be very drawn out. I persevered to the end as I hate not finishing books but didn’t enjoy it and felt myself drifting away when listening to it.

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Fantastic

This is one of my favourite books of all time, I’ve read it quite a few times now and it never gets old!

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