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Roth #1
The Four Last Things
Angel, the perfect childminder, preys on young children. But everything starts to slip out of control when Angel steals her latest victim, Lucy Appleyard. Having massacred the innocents over the years, she now wants someone to know about it.
402 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
81 people are currently reading
884 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Taylor
302 books56 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
August 24, 2022
Gestopt met lezen. Ik vond het niet goed.
August 3, 2015
25/9 - I love it when people (in books or tv, I've never actually heard it said in RL) use the phrase "Is that the time? I must dash." or words to that effect. It always brings me back to Fawlty Towers, I can't remember exactly which episode it's from but reading it always makes me laugh. To be continued...
26/9 - On page 89,
Clutching the box of paper handkerchiefs...".
Hasn't, like, the whole world been calling them tissues for some time now? That's a very odd way of putting it. *Shakes head in confusion, then scratches it in continued confusion* To be continued...
27/9 - Reading this was slightly weird for me because I knew the big surprise that was sprung on us at the ending. I made the unfortunate mistake of half reading the second book in this series, thinking it was this one (don't ask me how that happened), and so I knew who Angel would turn out to be as soon as she started talking about her father and his new wife. I will be interested to get back to The Judgement of Strangers, book two, as Angel hadn't really made an appearance yet, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she got from the mostly normal person she started out as to the 'Angel, massacrer of innocents' that we see in this book. I also want to understand the psychopathy behind her motives, as Angel doesn't do any self-analysis and Eddie isn't capable.
At some points I found the language a little too flowery for my tastes, especially considering the type of book that it is, and some of the details of the plot too hazy, too vague. I felt like Eddie was an unreliable narrator because a number of the scenes that he describes come to us muddled due to unspecified illness creating fever, alcohol, or blackouts due to mental trauma. The reader is supposed to guess, or assume, what happened through the descriptions Eddie gives us, but those descriptions might be (or might not be) corrupted by hallucinations and nightmares, and so as the reader you can't really trust what he's telling you. He might be telling us what he saw, or he might have hallucinated the whole thing and actually spent the whole night in bed asleep.
Religion played a very important part in this story. Sally, mother of the kidnapped child, is a priest who isn't particularly welcomed to the parish she presides over. David's, her husband's, godfather, is a retired priest with no love for the idea of female priests (it's never made clear when this was set, except that there are mobile phones and that it's after the 80s). After the abduction of Lucy Sally frequently questions her faith, the likelihood of there actually being a god who takes any notice of the troubles of man, and whether her female priestliness is the reason for the abduction of her child - is she going against God by being an ordained woman and is she therefore being punished for her audacity.
The Last Four Things had an interesting premise, but it got a bit bogged down and slow moving whenever we switched to Sally's POV. All she seemed to do was pray, or attempt to pray, sleep (due to sleeping pills handed out by whichever police officer had drawn the short straw and was tasked with babysitting her) and move listlessly around the apartment, or whatever other building, she was in at that time. I think, if I didn't own the final book in the trilogy I would probably stop reading the series right now, as it is I do so I feel obliged to go on, but I'm not expecting the reading of the rest of The Judgement of Strangers to be filled with twists and turns or fireworks.
26/9 - On page 89,
Clutching the box of paper handkerchiefs...".
Hasn't, like, the whole world been calling them tissues for some time now? That's a very odd way of putting it. *Shakes head in confusion, then scratches it in continued confusion* To be continued...
27/9 - Reading this was slightly weird for me because I knew the big surprise that was sprung on us at the ending. I made the unfortunate mistake of half reading the second book in this series, thinking it was this one (don't ask me how that happened), and so I knew who Angel would turn out to be as soon as she started talking about her father and his new wife. I will be interested to get back to The Judgement of Strangers, book two, as Angel hadn't really made an appearance yet, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she got from the mostly normal person she started out as to the 'Angel, massacrer of innocents' that we see in this book. I also want to understand the psychopathy behind her motives, as Angel doesn't do any self-analysis and Eddie isn't capable.
At some points I found the language a little too flowery for my tastes, especially considering the type of book that it is, and some of the details of the plot too hazy, too vague. I felt like Eddie was an unreliable narrator because a number of the scenes that he describes come to us muddled due to unspecified illness creating fever, alcohol, or blackouts due to mental trauma. The reader is supposed to guess, or assume, what happened through the descriptions Eddie gives us, but those descriptions might be (or might not be) corrupted by hallucinations and nightmares, and so as the reader you can't really trust what he's telling you. He might be telling us what he saw, or he might have hallucinated the whole thing and actually spent the whole night in bed asleep.
Religion played a very important part in this story. Sally, mother of the kidnapped child, is a priest who isn't particularly welcomed to the parish she presides over. David's, her husband's, godfather, is a retired priest with no love for the idea of female priests (it's never made clear when this was set, except that there are mobile phones and that it's after the 80s). After the abduction of Lucy Sally frequently questions her faith, the likelihood of there actually being a god who takes any notice of the troubles of man, and whether her female priestliness is the reason for the abduction of her child - is she going against God by being an ordained woman and is she therefore being punished for her audacity.
The Last Four Things had an interesting premise, but it got a bit bogged down and slow moving whenever we switched to Sally's POV. All she seemed to do was pray, or attempt to pray, sleep (due to sleeping pills handed out by whichever police officer had drawn the short straw and was tasked with babysitting her) and move listlessly around the apartment, or whatever other building, she was in at that time. I think, if I didn't own the final book in the trilogy I would probably stop reading the series right now, as it is I do so I feel obliged to go on, but I'm not expecting the reading of the rest of The Judgement of Strangers to be filled with twists and turns or fireworks.
September 22, 2009
I would be hard pressed to call this a mystery, although there is a crime. But, as you are also following the persons who committed the crime, it falls more into the genre of crime thriller.
This is the first in Andrew Taylor's Roth Trilogy, centering around a London suburb called Roth. In it we meed the Appleyards, and their four year old daughter Lucy. When Lucy is snatched from the home of the woman who watches her during the day, the race is on to hopefully get her back.
You also meet the duo of Eddie and Angel, the unusual couple that kidnapped Lucy. You find out a bit of Eddie's history, and it is fascinating in a really creepy sort of way. If you ever wondered why some people do the things they do, the book reveals some of the twisted answers. The second book, the Judgement of Strangers, travels back in time to the 1970's where I believe it will focus on the young Angel (or whatever her given name was at one time). Angel is a piece of work. I can't begin to tell you the mayhem that she causes.
The story is set at a breathtaking pace. It moves between the Appleyard's quest to get Lucy back, and the story of Eddie and Angel and what they are doing. This is not for the weak of heart, there are some very unpleasant things in this book, even though it is not very gorey, the unpleasantness happens off camera if you will, but it is there.
It also is very involved in thoughts about the church, redemption, judgement, and whether or not women should be allowed into the priesthood. And you discover what the four last things are, but will they help in the discovery of Lucy?
Needless to say I am waiting for the second book in the series. I could not put down the first. Get out and read it, y'all!
This is the first in Andrew Taylor's Roth Trilogy, centering around a London suburb called Roth. In it we meed the Appleyards, and their four year old daughter Lucy. When Lucy is snatched from the home of the woman who watches her during the day, the race is on to hopefully get her back.
You also meet the duo of Eddie and Angel, the unusual couple that kidnapped Lucy. You find out a bit of Eddie's history, and it is fascinating in a really creepy sort of way. If you ever wondered why some people do the things they do, the book reveals some of the twisted answers. The second book, the Judgement of Strangers, travels back in time to the 1970's where I believe it will focus on the young Angel (or whatever her given name was at one time). Angel is a piece of work. I can't begin to tell you the mayhem that she causes.
The story is set at a breathtaking pace. It moves between the Appleyard's quest to get Lucy back, and the story of Eddie and Angel and what they are doing. This is not for the weak of heart, there are some very unpleasant things in this book, even though it is not very gorey, the unpleasantness happens off camera if you will, but it is there.
It also is very involved in thoughts about the church, redemption, judgement, and whether or not women should be allowed into the priesthood. And you discover what the four last things are, but will they help in the discovery of Lucy?
Needless to say I am waiting for the second book in the series. I could not put down the first. Get out and read it, y'all!
October 11, 2017
A crime novel that is a bit different as you follow the events from the killers as well as the victim's parents point of view. The ending left most of the story lines open so I hope that #2 in this trilogy sheds light on that.
May 12, 2009
How have I missed Andrew Taylor? Taylor's first - part of a trilogy which can be read in any order, according to the author) - is a short sharp shock of a mystery. Not a police procedural, despite a main character's being in the London police, it relies more on the experience of several of the characters within the Anglican church. Indeed, the protagonist, Sally Appleyard, is a curate, and we experience her crisis of faith with her as she copes with her daughter's kidnapping. Told from Sally's point of view alternating with that of the kidnapper, TFLT keeps the reader guessing, with plenty of leads for the other two books.
Read-alikes would include Highsmith, McDermid, Rendell (as Barbara Vine), and to some extent, James Patterson and the like.
Read-alikes would include Highsmith, McDermid, Rendell (as Barbara Vine), and to some extent, James Patterson and the like.
February 8, 2010
OK, it's not really fair for me to review this since I didn't really read it. I only started it, then skipped to the end - something I RARELY do. Even my usual speed reading was just not fast enough for me. As a mom, I just cannot read books now about children being kidnapped and having to live through the reactions of the parents and all that. If a book's written REALLY well, then I can force myself through it, but sadly, this book lost me in the beginning with all the anti-working women talk (about the missing kid's mother). It was just so overdone - everyone against her - and it just got too annoying to read. And especially with the father against the mother working in the first place, then their kid goes missing? I knew it would bug the crap out of me, so I just couldn't keep reading.
Read
February 1, 2011The first part of a trilogy that has me wondering where the last two parts will go. I know from the introduction to this book that they go backwards in time and to other places and there are plenty of hints to the characters pasts in this book that I'm looking forward to filling in with details.
This is a story about the abduction of four year old Lucy Appleyard, the daughter of Michael, a police detective, and Sally, a Church of England deacon. The fact that the main mystery is solved but the threads aren't all tied up in this book and I'm going to have to go and get the following two volumes could be annoying but it actually makes it a really good book that leaves me wondering.
This is a story about the abduction of four year old Lucy Appleyard, the daughter of Michael, a police detective, and Sally, a Church of England deacon. The fact that the main mystery is solved but the threads aren't all tied up in this book and I'm going to have to go and get the following two volumes could be annoying but it actually makes it a really good book that leaves me wondering.
March 17, 2019
Muy buena historia
Muy bien llevada
Me gusto la descripcion que hace el autor (de manera muy rápida) de cómo queda la familia de la niña se me hace muy real
Muy bien llevada
Me gusto la descripcion que hace el autor (de manera muy rápida) de cómo queda la familia de la niña se me hace muy real
March 30, 2020
Un libro súper pesado, muchísimo relleno, la verdad a mi no me gustó en lo absoluto y no planeo leer los dos siguientes
March 30, 2010
"Evil causes led to evil effects, which themselves became causes of further evil. Could you ever hope to end the consequences, or would they stretch through the centuries from past and future?"
~ Andrew Taylor, The Judgement of Strangers
In the three books that make up The Roth Trilogy, Andrew Taylor has set out to write a series of inter-related mysteries occurring over several decades of the twentieth century. What makes Taylor's books so unusual - and so interesting - is that he does it "backwards". The Four Last Things, the first book in the trilogy and the most recent chronologically, is set in the 1990's and describes the abduction of four year old Lucy Appleyard. The primary story is suspenseful and exciting enough to allow this book to stand on it's own, however Taylor makes it clear that a series of events begun in the past are ultimately responsible for Lucy's abduction.
As someone who has difficulties reading about certain subjects - like child abduction - I think it's worth mentioning that many American television shows contain more graphically depicted violence than you will find in Andrew Taylor's book. That's not to say that Taylor's book isn't agonizingly suspenseful - it is - but for the most part he achieves the suspense by keeping the story moving at a rate that approaches real life. In many novels, after a traumatic event such as a child going missing a parent will react in horror and agony but the narrative spares the reader all the minutiae by beginning the next paragraph after a time-skip, i.e.: "Two days later, Sally was still as emotionally devastated as when she had first heard the news". Taylor, on the other hand, doesn't let his readers off the hook so easily. We are there when Sally Appleyard opens her eyes to a gray, empty morning without her daughter and we stay with her through the excruciating day that follows as she tries to be pleasant to all the well-meaning people around her, all the while she is screaming inside.
As a stand-alone mystery, I would rate The Four Last Things at least four stars. As the first chapter in a larger story I think it deserves five. Taylor does a wonderful job of creating a story that is able to stand alone while intimating a deeper meaning behind many of the events that will only become clear when the other books are read.
~ Andrew Taylor, The Judgement of Strangers
In the three books that make up The Roth Trilogy, Andrew Taylor has set out to write a series of inter-related mysteries occurring over several decades of the twentieth century. What makes Taylor's books so unusual - and so interesting - is that he does it "backwards". The Four Last Things, the first book in the trilogy and the most recent chronologically, is set in the 1990's and describes the abduction of four year old Lucy Appleyard. The primary story is suspenseful and exciting enough to allow this book to stand on it's own, however Taylor makes it clear that a series of events begun in the past are ultimately responsible for Lucy's abduction.
As someone who has difficulties reading about certain subjects - like child abduction - I think it's worth mentioning that many American television shows contain more graphically depicted violence than you will find in Andrew Taylor's book. That's not to say that Taylor's book isn't agonizingly suspenseful - it is - but for the most part he achieves the suspense by keeping the story moving at a rate that approaches real life. In many novels, after a traumatic event such as a child going missing a parent will react in horror and agony but the narrative spares the reader all the minutiae by beginning the next paragraph after a time-skip, i.e.: "Two days later, Sally was still as emotionally devastated as when she had first heard the news". Taylor, on the other hand, doesn't let his readers off the hook so easily. We are there when Sally Appleyard opens her eyes to a gray, empty morning without her daughter and we stay with her through the excruciating day that follows as she tries to be pleasant to all the well-meaning people around her, all the while she is screaming inside.
As a stand-alone mystery, I would rate The Four Last Things at least four stars. As the first chapter in a larger story I think it deserves five. Taylor does a wonderful job of creating a story that is able to stand alone while intimating a deeper meaning behind many of the events that will only become clear when the other books are read.
May 17, 2011
I have never read anything by Andrew Taylor, so I was very excited to dive in to his book. He has a great style of writing. I want say it is as scary and thrilling as I imagine. But it was a good read. It was sad how it ended. So I didn't really care to much for the ending. I thought it should end a lot differently. ( But don't all us readers do lol.)
I also enjoyed how Andrew Taylor took the title and tied it so perfectly in the story. I enjoyed how the title was what made up the middle to the end of the book.
So let me give you a quick rundown of what to expect...without the spoilers.
A Reverend Sally Applegate and her husband Michael a police officer, daughter is abducted from there babysitters home. Her kidnappers are a pedophile name Eddie, and Angel who is a killer and the chief of this whole ordeal. Instead of things turning ugly and how they both intended. It turn into a world wind of mess and craziness.
Okay, there!!!! I most stop. Cause if I type more I will tell the ending to this great book. SO if your looking for a good read and something to keep you entertain. Pick up the The Four Last Things....you will not regret it.
I also enjoyed how Andrew Taylor took the title and tied it so perfectly in the story. I enjoyed how the title was what made up the middle to the end of the book.
So let me give you a quick rundown of what to expect...without the spoilers.
A Reverend Sally Applegate and her husband Michael a police officer, daughter is abducted from there babysitters home. Her kidnappers are a pedophile name Eddie, and Angel who is a killer and the chief of this whole ordeal. Instead of things turning ugly and how they both intended. It turn into a world wind of mess and craziness.
Okay, there!!!! I most stop. Cause if I type more I will tell the ending to this great book. SO if your looking for a good read and something to keep you entertain. Pick up the The Four Last Things....you will not regret it.
August 5, 2017
I was blown away by this book, and this author. It's as if you crossed Margaret Drabble or Iris Murdoch with a commercial detective writer. The subject is difficult (child kidnapping/abuse) but the author spins such a mezmerizing tale, and the characters are so real (including, believe it or not, one of the kidnappers) that I was in awe. Apparently, Taylor has written many other mysteries, including some historical ones, and I have already ordered several. BTW, this book is the first of a trilogy, and the author apparently goes further and further back in time with each book, unveiling the events that precipitate the ones in the first book. One of the two kidnappers in FOUR LAST THINGS is a woman, who though beautiful is completely manipulative and "evil" (that's not a term I use lightly) and apparently her story is told in the second book of the series. I have a feeling that, amazingly, Taylor will make her a fully rounded character, and reveal the circumstances that made her into the person capable of carrying out the horrendous acts. I take my hat off to him.
March 9, 2023
Uitstekend eerste deel van de Roth trilogie, dat zijn afspeelt in de jaren negentig.
Eddie, een zielige figuur die zich vooral op zijn gemak voelt bij kleine meisjes, neemt met de hulp van een jonge vrouw, Angel, een jong meisje mee.
Lucy is niet zomaar meegenomen, zij is speciaal uitgekozen, maar waarom? Heeft het te maken met het feit dat haar vader bij de politie zit, of dat haar moeder een dominee is in de Anglicaanse kerk terwijl veel mensen hierop tegen zijn? En waarom worden er ledematen van andere meisjes gevonden op allerlei plekken die te maken hebben met een gedicht dat geschreven is door Francis Youlgreave, een priester die in diskrediet is geraakt rond 1900?
De sfeertekening, de uitwerking van de karakters en de opbouw is uitstekend gedaan. Pas in de laatste regel wordt een bepaalde connectie duidelijk, die in deel twee uitgewerkt zal worden.
Eddie, een zielige figuur die zich vooral op zijn gemak voelt bij kleine meisjes, neemt met de hulp van een jonge vrouw, Angel, een jong meisje mee.
Lucy is niet zomaar meegenomen, zij is speciaal uitgekozen, maar waarom? Heeft het te maken met het feit dat haar vader bij de politie zit, of dat haar moeder een dominee is in de Anglicaanse kerk terwijl veel mensen hierop tegen zijn? En waarom worden er ledematen van andere meisjes gevonden op allerlei plekken die te maken hebben met een gedicht dat geschreven is door Francis Youlgreave, een priester die in diskrediet is geraakt rond 1900?
De sfeertekening, de uitwerking van de karakters en de opbouw is uitstekend gedaan. Pas in de laatste regel wordt een bepaalde connectie duidelijk, die in deel twee uitgewerkt zal worden.
May 26, 2014
This has to be my best read of 2014 so far. Beautifully creepy, always lucid, painfully suspenseful. As a mystery writer myself I found myself looking back at certain agonizing passages and thinking - how did he do that? Yes, the reader begins this book full of trepidation because there is about to be a child abduction but in Taylor's hands the event becomes something much more character-driven and psychologically perceptive.
I am just now rewarding myself with the second part of the trilogy, The Judgement of Strangers, and am only able to drag myself away because my kindle has run down. Modern Gothic, with all its trappings of Anglican theology, grubby streets and tortured outsiders, rarely gets as good as this.
I am just now rewarding myself with the second part of the trilogy, The Judgement of Strangers, and am only able to drag myself away because my kindle has run down. Modern Gothic, with all its trappings of Anglican theology, grubby streets and tortured outsiders, rarely gets as good as this.
Read
November 26, 2012I don't usually read this genre and now I know why! It was a book club choice so I saw it through. I was on the edge of my seat towards the end of the book but I did guess the ending. I'm not sure if I will read the other two books in the trilogy. Although thinking about it I may not be able to help myself! It was well written and a page turner - I just didn't like the whole child abduction thing. I did enjoy The American Boy so it hasn't put me off Andrew Taylor.
January 28, 2016
Andrew Taylor is such an effortless writer. I envy his ability to capture place and atmosphere. Looking forward to Part 2 of the trilogy.
April 5, 2021
Toată viața sa, Eddie a crezut în Moș Crăciun. În copilărie, credința sa era instinctivă și firească; s-a agățat de ea mai mult decât cei de-o vârstă cu el și a abandonat-o regretând. În locul ei, a apărut o nouă convingere, un alt Moș Crăciun: nu atât de bine definit ca primul și astfel mai vulnerabil.
Acest Moș Crăciun era zeitatea lui proprie, sursa unor mici miracole și a unor neașteptate bucurii. Acestui Moș Crăciun – cui altcuiva? – i-o datora pe Lucy Appleyard.
Lucy se afla în curtea din spate a casei Carlei Vaughan. Eddie era în umbra aleii, dar Lucy stătea lângă o fereastră luminată, așa că nu putea fi nicio greșeală la mijloc. Ploua, iar părul ei întunecat era punctat cu picături de apă care sclipeau precum perlele. Imaginea ei îl lăsă fără suflare. Era ca și cum l-ar fi așteptat pe el. „Un cadou primit mai devreme, se gândi el, frumos împachetat, ca pentru Crăciun.”
Acest Moș Crăciun era zeitatea lui proprie, sursa unor mici miracole și a unor neașteptate bucurii. Acestui Moș Crăciun – cui altcuiva? – i-o datora pe Lucy Appleyard.
Lucy se afla în curtea din spate a casei Carlei Vaughan. Eddie era în umbra aleii, dar Lucy stătea lângă o fereastră luminată, așa că nu putea fi nicio greșeală la mijloc. Ploua, iar părul ei întunecat era punctat cu picături de apă care sclipeau precum perlele. Imaginea ei îl lăsă fără suflare. Era ca și cum l-ar fi așteptat pe el. „Un cadou primit mai devreme, se gândi el, frumos împachetat, ca pentru Crăciun.”
December 22, 2021
The last of Andrew Taylor's book I read (A Stain on the Silence) while good enough felt a bit formulaic and the work of an author knocking out a competent but average crime/thriller with above average characterisation.
This on the other hand is a deep and often disturbing study of a psychopath and a paedophile.
It feels like Highsmith and is chilling in it's intensity and feels like someone has scratched a window into a real life abduction and the pain, distress and complete chaos affecting two ordinary parents.
I found it difficult to put down and was absorbed by the pain of Sally and equally involved in the childhood and shortcomings of the very believable and confused Eddie.
A really good peek into the dark side of life.
This on the other hand is a deep and often disturbing study of a psychopath and a paedophile.
It feels like Highsmith and is chilling in it's intensity and feels like someone has scratched a window into a real life abduction and the pain, distress and complete chaos affecting two ordinary parents.
I found it difficult to put down and was absorbed by the pain of Sally and equally involved in the childhood and shortcomings of the very believable and confused Eddie.
A really good peek into the dark side of life.
August 20, 2024
I didn't like it. Not even for a single second.
The start looks somehow promising, but what we have next is an unpleasant mixture of sex, violence and religion, not to mention a sort of pedophilia and even cannibalism.
You may say that the latest is only suggested, as one of our dearest characters keeps some packs with flesh of murdered children and has an used plate and some cutlery on the table.
There is NO pleasant character, even Sally is not quite in order. Her husband, Michael, has some problems at work, Angel is the demon himself (or herself...) Eddie is an un-grown child and the list could continue. Along with my lamentations...
The start looks somehow promising, but what we have next is an unpleasant mixture of sex, violence and religion, not to mention a sort of pedophilia and even cannibalism.
You may say that the latest is only suggested, as one of our dearest characters keeps some packs with flesh of murdered children and has an used plate and some cutlery on the table.
There is NO pleasant character, even Sally is not quite in order. Her husband, Michael, has some problems at work, Angel is the demon himself (or herself...) Eddie is an un-grown child and the list could continue. Along with my lamentations...
October 29, 2025
First in a trilogy which is variously known as the "Roth Trilogy" or "Fallen Angel", this is set sometime in the 1990s from various indications (women are now able to be ordained in the C of E but no women bishops yet, mobile phones exist but haven't yet become an extension of our bodies) and concerns the kidnapping of the four-year-old daughter of a woman deacon and her police sergeant husband. Very creepy and unsettling. The next parts of the trilogy go back in time to explore the origins of the evil childminder Angel, apparently, and I certainly want to find out more about her backstory, especially given the twist on the last page.
July 4, 2023
A fascinating murder mystery/thriller with well-developed characters, each of whom have mysteries not totally revealed by the end of the book. Those back stories are developed in reverse chronological order as one reads the Roth Trilogy. However, the book is a deep exploration of faith, disillusionment, relationships, and pathologies. As in many thrillers, there are gringe inducing scenes and the reader knows the culprit behind all the cruelty but still it is fascinating to watch other characters gradually put the puzzle together through their own fractured lenses.
February 3, 2025
UNO DE LOS LIBROS MÁS RETORCIDOS QUE HE LEÍDO.
La trama es buena, lo compré porque estaba en oferta y no me arrepiento de nada. La oscuridad detrás de cada capítulo es densa y te deja pensando que, en nuestro mundo, de verdad hay gente así de mala y perversa, no recomiendo leerlo si eres sensible, menos cuando los involucrados son niños pequeños. Goce bastante la lectura, pero no lo volvería a leer porque me quedé con la piel de gallina por horas luego de terminarlo.
La trama es buena, lo compré porque estaba en oferta y no me arrepiento de nada. La oscuridad detrás de cada capítulo es densa y te deja pensando que, en nuestro mundo, de verdad hay gente así de mala y perversa, no recomiendo leerlo si eres sensible, menos cuando los involucrados son niños pequeños. Goce bastante la lectura, pero no lo volvería a leer porque me quedé con la piel de gallina por horas luego de terminarlo.
January 10, 2019
Not really a mystery, but mysterious nonetheless. A superbly written psychological thriller with layers and nuances and teasers aplenty for any mystery buff. I can hardly wait to read the other books in the series!
March 26, 2020
This first of the trilogy is why I’ve loved Andrew Taylor’s books. They tell you seemingly everything about the kidnapping, the family, the kidnapper and the community but you know so little and even at the end you need to know more.
October 19, 2020
While I appreciated the dual points of view, all the characters were kind of...meh? I think I would have preferred one or the other. But it was a fun spooky read, and I’m glad I picked it up from the free library next door.
September 22, 2021
3.5 stars, a good read with plenty of suspense. I liked the switching between Eddie and Angel to the Appleyards' side of the story and the thought of what was going on in the sound proofed cellar kept me glued to the book. I am looking forward to reading the next 2 books in the trilogy.
April 8, 2022
No esta mal, creo que se enfoca demasiado en personajes innecesarios, y los que importan le falta. Lo que si es que en ciertas partes se vuelve un poco incomodo, supongo que es a propósito del escritor.
June 7, 2025
Not a comfortable read but skilfully woven to introduce a range of characters that appear in the other two novels in the trilogy. You’ll only fully understand some of them if you read the other two novels, which I liked. Personally I’m glad I read the books in order. The tempo drops occasionally
September 10, 2017
A decent mystery.
November 22, 2017
I liked some of the characters, but the story moved along rather slow. The best page in the book was the last one...makes me want to continue the series.
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