Search This Blog

2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


32 / 30 books. 107% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (9)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (2)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (2)
- Georgia (2)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (4)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (3)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (9)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (2)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (2)

International:
- Argentina (1)
- Australia (2)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (3)
- China (2)
- England (21)
- France (1)
- Ghana (1)
- India (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Poland (1)
- Russia (1)
- Scotland (3)
- The Netherlands (1)

My Progress:


51 / 51 states. 100% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


49 / 50 books. 98% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


36 / 50 books. 72% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


50 / 52 books. 96% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


36 / 40 books. 90% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


18 / 40 books. 45% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


26 / 25 cozies. 104% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


22 / 26.2 miles (3rd lap). 84% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


41 / 100 books. 41% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


97 / 109 books. 89% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


130 / 165 books. 79% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

My Progress:


83 / 100 names. 83% done!

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

My Progress:


10 / 80 skills. 13% done!
Monday, November 16, 2020

Debut Psychological Thriller Lacks That Special "Something"

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

As the author of a popular book on how to leave an abusive partner and host of a radio talk show on the same subject, psychologist Faith Finley has helped hundreds of people flee bad situations.  She's a respected psychologist living a successful, happy life with her loving husband, Liam.  Then, there's a car accident.  Faith wakes up in the hospital to foggy memories of the crash and a horrifying question:  Where is Liam?  She insists he was in the vehicle with her, but authorities can find no sign of him.  It seems to them as if he's done a runner, quietly slipping out of a life he no longer wants.  Faith refuses to believe that.  Something terrible happened to her husband and she wants to know what.

Then, Faith starts receiving threatening notes in the form of pages ripped from her book advising things like "Consider investing in a steel door."  Between the unsettling notes and a crisis at work, she can barely cope.  Self-medicating with alcohol and pills, Faith is hardly at her best.  Still, she won't rest until she knows once and for all what happened to Liam.  Even if it means putting herself in the path of a dangerous stalker.

Psychological thrillers are a dime a dozen these days.  It takes something special to really make one stand out over all the others.  Unfortunately, Someone's Listening, a debut novel by filmmaker Seraphina Nova Glass, just doesn't have that something.  The novel's premise is simple but intriguing.  I found it compelling enough to keep reading, even though the story suffered from predictability and uneven pacing.  My biggest beef was with Faith herself.  Not only is she unconvincing as a psychologist, but she's also unappealing as a person.  I'm not sure why I found her so unlikable; I just did.  It was difficult for me to connect with her, making it hard to care what happened to her.  All these things considered, I ended up not loving Someone's Listening.  It was just an average read for me.  

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other psychological thrillers, although no specific titles are coming to mind.)

Grade:


If this were a movie, it would be rated:


for strong language, violence, sexual content, and depictions of illegal drug use (marijuana)

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of Someone's Listening from the generous folks at HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

2 comments:

  1. Another so-so read...I'm sorry. Hopefully your next one will be much better. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I find it hard to enjoy a book when I can't connect to the main character. I enjoyed this one more than you did and perhaps it is because I listened to the audioboo. Nice, honest review Susan.

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.

P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!

Blog Widget by LinkWithin


Reading

<i>Reading</i>
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie

Listening

<i>Listening</i>
The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth



Followin' with Bloglovin'

Follow

Followin' with Feedly

follow us in feedly



Grab my Button!


Blog Design by:


Blog Archive



2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
Susan has read 0 books toward her goal of 200 books.
hide

2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction

2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction

2023 - Middle Grade Fiction

2023 - Middle Grade Fiction

2022 - Middle Grade Fiction

2022 - Middle Grade Fiction

2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction