A Superb Gossipy Atmosphere But Let Down At The End
‘”It’s the neighbourhood code.”
‘”Absolutely,’ agreed Edie, then she paused. “What’s that?”
“You know: what happens on Pine Road stays on Pine Road. Blood is thicker than water, but neither’s as thick as mortar.”’
Three Little Truths managed to create a sense of atmosphere and grip me as a reader pretty much immediately. Within the first few chapters of the book I found myself caring about each of the central characters and also getting a real sense of the gossipy community that they lived within. There were elements of mystery that left me intrigued – namely what had caused Martha’s move – and something about the story seemed to give me Desperate Housewives vibes which I was thrilled about. Unfortunately I don’t think it quite ended up being as similar to that show as I was expecting but I did still enjoy the writing and the story for the most part, although I did have a couple of issues with it too.
Firstly after the initially gripping start the story started to wear on me slightly after a while. One of the characters seemed to act in a way that started to feel a little too immature for her age group and yet she had been the one that I was initially most attached to. I also felt like the story wasn’t really going anywhere but thankfully, just after the halfway point, the book seemed to pick back up, suck me in and left my earlier feelings of discontentment behind.
There were some difficult topics handled rather nicely and some really well written, suspenseful scenes as well. The atmosphere of this gossip ridden, supposedly close-knit group stayed throughout and the WhatsApp messages that broke up the chapters were always interesting to read. At times some of the neighbour’s antics made me smile yet the darker issues were still well written and handled in a sensible manner. The list is a pretty horrifying idea and, thinking about it now, I think maybe there could have been a bit more of an answer as to ‘why’ it was written but the conclusion to that part of the story was otherwise satisfying.
My enjoyment of the story stayed with me right up until fairly near the end which is so frustrating as, up until that point, I’d probably have given this book four stars, urging others to stick with it if they got a bit tired around the middle as the story does pick back up. For me though the ending was a bit of a letdown in several ways. Although, at the very same time, all of the little adjoining threads came together wonderfully and I was, in fact, surprised by some of the revelations. My issues aren’t actually with the revelation even, that was really well crafted, but with what came after; how certain characters acted, what they did and didn’t do, how certain things were overlooked. Obviously I can’t say too much, due to spoilers, but I just felt that the aftermath of the revelations could have been a lot better. It didn’t feel real to me; everything was just too easily dropped and patched up.
Overall I can’t really say that I recommend this book but I wouldn’t particularly describe it as bad either. The twists and revelations were well crafted, the atmosphere and setting were superb and it was honestly just let down by a weak aftermath to the big reveal and a slowing down after the gripping start. Maybe others wouldn’t have the same issues as me concerning the end though and, up until that point, it really was quite enjoyable. I probably would check out other books by the author eventually, I’m just not in too much of a rush to do so.
‘”Absolutely,’ agreed Edie, then she paused. “What’s that?”
“You know: what happens on Pine Road stays on Pine Road. Blood is thicker than water, but neither’s as thick as mortar.”’
Three Little Truths managed to create a sense of atmosphere and grip me as a reader pretty much immediately. Within the first few chapters of the book I found myself caring about each of the central characters and also getting a real sense of the gossipy community that they lived within. There were elements of mystery that left me intrigued – namely what had caused Martha’s move – and something about the story seemed to give me Desperate Housewives vibes which I was thrilled about. Unfortunately I don’t think it quite ended up being as similar to that show as I was expecting but I did still enjoy the writing and the story for the most part, although I did have a couple of issues with it too.
Firstly after the initially gripping start the story started to wear on me slightly after a while. One of the characters seemed to act in a way that started to feel a little too immature for her age group and yet she had been the one that I was initially most attached to. I also felt like the story wasn’t really going anywhere but thankfully, just after the halfway point, the book seemed to pick back up, suck me in and left my earlier feelings of discontentment behind.
There were some difficult topics handled rather nicely and some really well written, suspenseful scenes as well. The atmosphere of this gossip ridden, supposedly close-knit group stayed throughout and the WhatsApp messages that broke up the chapters were always interesting to read. At times some of the neighbour’s antics made me smile yet the darker issues were still well written and handled in a sensible manner. The list is a pretty horrifying idea and, thinking about it now, I think maybe there could have been a bit more of an answer as to ‘why’ it was written but the conclusion to that part of the story was otherwise satisfying.
My enjoyment of the story stayed with me right up until fairly near the end which is so frustrating as, up until that point, I’d probably have given this book four stars, urging others to stick with it if they got a bit tired around the middle as the story does pick back up. For me though the ending was a bit of a letdown in several ways. Although, at the very same time, all of the little adjoining threads came together wonderfully and I was, in fact, surprised by some of the revelations. My issues aren’t actually with the revelation even, that was really well crafted, but with what came after; how certain characters acted, what they did and didn’t do, how certain things were overlooked. Obviously I can’t say too much, due to spoilers, but I just felt that the aftermath of the revelations could have been a lot better. It didn’t feel real to me; everything was just too easily dropped and patched up.
Overall I can’t really say that I recommend this book but I wouldn’t particularly describe it as bad either. The twists and revelations were well crafted, the atmosphere and setting were superb and it was honestly just let down by a weak aftermath to the big reveal and a slowing down after the gripping start. Maybe others wouldn’t have the same issues as me concerning the end though and, up until that point, it really was quite enjoyable. I probably would check out other books by the author eventually, I’m just not in too much of a rush to do so.