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bunthedestroyer's review against another edition
1.0
Got to page 60 & couldnt finish. Flipped to the end to see who did it. Wicked Girls was worse. Never giving this author another chance.
coffeecurls's review against another edition
5.0
5 Stars from me!
This is the second book by Alex Marwood that I’ve read and much like The Wicked Girls – I absolutely loved it!
I can well see this being made into a TV series (it put me in mind of What Remains) or film as it was so easy to visualise while reading it. More of a black comedy than a truly scary book – think along the lines of Shallow Grave and you won’t go far wrong. The Killer Next Door focuses on the mundanity of life, day-to-day chores and inconveniences with lovely little snippets of human behaviour playing out among the warped world around us – all wrapped up in a subplot of macabre humour.
I felt all the characters were cleverly devised and interacted well with each other. The additional story-line given to Collette was a nice touch even though the story could have carried itself quite nicely without it.
Very, very different the The Wicked Girls but just as good – highly recommended.
I’m loving Alex Marwood right now and hope she is busy writing more :)
This is the second book by Alex Marwood that I’ve read and much like The Wicked Girls – I absolutely loved it!
I can well see this being made into a TV series (it put me in mind of What Remains) or film as it was so easy to visualise while reading it. More of a black comedy than a truly scary book – think along the lines of Shallow Grave and you won’t go far wrong. The Killer Next Door focuses on the mundanity of life, day-to-day chores and inconveniences with lovely little snippets of human behaviour playing out among the warped world around us – all wrapped up in a subplot of macabre humour.
I felt all the characters were cleverly devised and interacted well with each other. The additional story-line given to Collette was a nice touch even though the story could have carried itself quite nicely without it.
Very, very different the The Wicked Girls but just as good – highly recommended.
I’m loving Alex Marwood right now and hope she is busy writing more :)
debsfielding583's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
loveisastateofmind's review against another edition
4.0
This thriller isn't a page-turner from the beginning but rather a slow-starter that gradually sucks you in until you can't put it down.
The fact that it is told from many characters' POVs keeps things interesting. The present tense took a bit of getting used to for me but definitely suited the book. It is set in London and makes good use of the location and everything feels distinctively British.
When you first meet the characters, they are not instantly loveable (or even likeable) but by the end you certainly begin to care about the fates of most of the characters.
The fact that it is told from many characters' POVs keeps things interesting. The present tense took a bit of getting used to for me but definitely suited the book. It is set in London and makes good use of the location and everything feels distinctively British.
When you first meet the characters, they are not instantly loveable (or even likeable) but by the end you certainly begin to care about the fates of most of the characters.
carrik's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe a bit better than 3 stars. I liked it fine. There were moments of good anxiety and parts that were somewhat nauseating. It was not particularly scary though. There was an interesting cast of characters but I felt like there were so many competing side plots that were distracting to the overall story. It could have been better.
katef's review against another edition
4.0
I am beginning to love Alex Marwood! First The Wicked Girls and now this. While the mystery of the killer wasn't hard at all to figure out, it's the characters that made this a stand-out for me. Be warned, this has some super gross/gristly/gruesome parts.
hookerkitty's review against another edition
I don't mind books that are in third person, but fucking tell me who is talking/being described. I had to reread so many paragraphs bc I had no idea wtf was going on.
So I was already trying to decide if I was gonna DNF the book bc of stuff like that, but then it got to a part where there was a way too graphic description of a gross smelly perv masturbating while watching the hidden cameras he installed in his tenants' houses. Nope. I have zero interest in reading anything about dudes masturbating, let alone one who's killing and mummifying women bc he's too damn nasty to get one on his own (I also find it highly unlikely that he'd have the intelligence, patience, or stamina to do any of that)
So it's December, I'm a little behind in my reading (which was also not helped by me falling asleep shortly after almost every reading session with this book), and life's too damn short to waste time reading something you don't like. So I'm drop kicking this book into the ether, where it belongs
So I was already trying to decide if I was gonna DNF the book bc of stuff like that, but then it got to a part where there was a way too graphic description of a gross smelly perv masturbating while watching the hidden cameras he installed in his tenants' houses. Nope. I have zero interest in reading anything about dudes masturbating, let alone one who's killing and mummifying women bc he's too damn nasty to get one on his own (I also find it highly unlikely that he'd have the intelligence, patience, or stamina to do any of that)
So it's December, I'm a little behind in my reading (which was also not helped by me falling asleep shortly after almost every reading session with this book), and life's too damn short to waste time reading something you don't like. So I'm drop kicking this book into the ether, where it belongs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Medical content
Moderate: Death
Minor: Dementia, Abandonment, and Alcohol
maliazaidi's review against another edition
3.0
Hm... I'm kind of on the fence about this one. I didn't really enjoy Marwood's The Wicked Girls, so i waited a while to read this, and again emerge with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I did like it better than The Wicked Girls simply because I found the majority of the characters so much more interesting and I really rooted for a couple of them, which is a huge plus, even if the story was not so great. It was gripping, but at the same time, I wanted to finish it quickly because the killer was particularly creepy. It did bother me a little that I basically knew the whole time who the killer was, as I usually prefer to have a bit of a guessing game with mysteries and thrillers, nonetheless, I definitely did not predict the twist at the end.
All in all, a gripping read, but ultimately one I would almost prefer to fade in my memory quickly, simply because I found the mystery really unpleasant.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
All in all, a gripping read, but ultimately one I would almost prefer to fade in my memory quickly, simply because I found the mystery really unpleasant.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
snflwrmare's review against another edition
There were parts that were very uncomfortable. I really could not get into this. I tried. I got almost halfway and decided I just couldn't continue.
rebeccajay's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely fantastic read, possibly my favorite mystery I've read this year. Diverse characters, well plotted and suspenseful; and a great ending.