Do not put this author on par with Gillian Flynn. It's hurtful and incredibly untrue. The book had potential from the back cover and short excerpt and I wanted to like it, I really did. But the characters suck, each and every one of them was a massive cliche & even the serial killer was a boring ass guy. This book was torture to sit and read through.

This book was very fast paced. I must say I enjoyed it quite a bit. I did not anticipate the ending. Usually I am good at predicting what is going to happen. I liked this book purely for that reason that I had no idea what was going to happen at the end. While the book was not very fleshed out and moved quickly while adding many details that seem trivial it did keep a good pace. I did get a bit bored in the middle but it was a short book and that boredom did not last long. I did have some questions from the beginning but towards the end revelations were made that made the whole story make sense. I liked how the author flipped between present and the past to make specific points even through I got confused at times with this method. In the end it completed and made sense. Overall a decently written book even if some details seemed lacking, it still kept a good pace.

This book was terrible. I got the sense that the author wrote a much longer book, and that the editor chopped out large sections. The book felt disjointed, and the characters did many things there were out of character. This woman hasn't left her apartment in years and suddenly she's jet-setting across the country? Please.

There were too many holes and gaps in the story, and while the book had a lot of potential, it is in desperate need of tighter editing and cleaner re-writes.

⭐️ La pluma de la autora es sencilla (a veces tal vez demasiado simple) y ligera, pero a la vez es esa misma simpleza la que resulta tan cautivadora haciendo que te pierdas en las páginas. Yo cuando me quise dar cuenta ya me había leído la mitad del libro de un tirón sin notarlo.

⭐️ La historia que se nos cuenta es oscura, dura y perversa y el sufrimiento padecido por Sarah es fácilmente palpable a través de las palabras de la autora. Hay varios momentos en los que resulta difícil leer por las crueldades a las que es sometida la protagonista. Se puede ver el Trastorno de Estrés Post Traumático que sufre Sarah por lo acontecido y hace que sea aún más fácil empatizar con ella y la terrible situación por la que tuvo que pasar. Es tan triste saber que cosas como esas pasan en la vida real y que existe gente tan horrible en el mundo.

⭐️ Me parece que si hay algo que deja claro el libro es que a veces no importa que tanto cuidado podamos tener, hay cosas que están más allá de lo que uno pueda prever y para nada se puede culpar a la víctima de que exista en el mundo gente tan horrorosa.

⭐️ Creo qué hay algunas cosas que quedaron inconclusas en la trama y me hubiera gustado que se resolvieran o que se profundizara un poco más en el personaje de Jennifer, siendo tan importante para la trama. También me hubiese gustado saber más acerca de Jack, tener algunos capítulos narrados desde su perspectiva creo que habría enriquecido más la historia. Y conocer los puntos de vista de los otros personajes femeninos también hubiese aportado muchísimo.

Aún así me gustó mucho el libro y lo recomiendo.

⭐️ 3,75

2019 PopSugar Challenge - book featuring an amateur detective

A woman who had been held captive for 3 years is now getting letters from her former captor and investigates what really happened to her during that time. Yeah it's farfetched but it kept my interest. I put it on hold at the library as a Mass Market Murder Mystery.

I recommend this book even with one major flaw that almost ruined it for me. You have to suspend disbelief in the third act like you would a bad 80's horror movie. I mean let's just say going into the most dangerous situations a person could go into you bring a weapon for safety. Otherwise, lots of twists and turns with a profound ending for a character that was not expected.

Creepy. Okay read.

Hard to believe this was the author's first book. It was quite a page-turner and remained suspenseful throughout. The author dealt with some very heavy issues like bondage, abduction, and S&M without ever getting overly graphic. Will definitely read her next book.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher

After a life altering car accident best friends Jennifer and Sarah decide to start something called “the never list.” This is a list of things they will never do so they can stay safe and alive for as long as possible. After seeing Jennifer’s mother die, neither of the girls wants to take the risk that that could happen to one of them. At this point, they are all each other has. But one night, while taking their regular cab home from a college party all of their safety training is useless, and Jennifer and Sarah find themselves in the dungeon with two other girls. Sarah will stay there for three years, Jennifer will not make it out, and Sarah will spend the rest of her life trying to make up for that.

Before I start with the rest of the review I have to note that this book is not for the squeamish. Khan has included enough details here about torture and the S&M culture that anyone not prepared for it will find it tough to get through. However, I think Khan walks the line well, while she’s definitely taking a risk, she’s not crossing into what the horror-genre world knows as “torture porn.” While graphic, I think Khan still manages to take the topic seriously and even though the topics might be sensational Khan isn’t just using that sensationalism to sell her book.

Sarah is our main character and narrator, but she’s joined in the protagonist role with the other two girls she spent years with in the dungeon. Each of these girls is handling the trauma in their own way and through them Khan is able to explore how people cope with trauma and tragedy. Of course, if you’ve read the back cover you know that this isn’t just a human interest story about survival…and the girls who made it out of the dungeon are still tied together in a quest to keep Jack, their captor, in jail, and eventually end up back in the house none of them wanted to see again with a twist that will make your heart sink.

This book as a remarkably fast paced read and hard to put down. Khan has managed to throw in plenty of mystery and twists of fate to make you wonder just where she’ll go next and I’m excited to say I didn’t see the ending coming, so much so I want to read it again and see if I missed any clues the first time. Any fan of darker crime fiction will love this book, just make sure you’re ready to read about the topics. However, if you are just looking for an S&M horror show you’ll be disappointed. Khan has delivered an intelligent plot and a page turning mystery.

ספר מתח-אימה מצמרר על שתי חברות שנחטפות על ידי פסיכופת סדיסט הכולא אותן במרתף ביתו במשך שלוש שנים ומבצע בהן ניסויים בכאב.
במרתף הן מגלות שתי נערות נוספות כבולות לקיר, ותיבת עץ המיועדת לאחת מהן (עד כאן מחשש ספוילרים).
הספר כתוב היטב ואינו מכיל תיאורים גרפיים מפורשים של העינויים והזוועות, אולם הסופרת מפזרת רמזים המותירים לקורא חופש דמיון שיש בו כדי להפחיד יותר מכל תיאור מפורש.
הספר קופץ בזמן מההווה לעבר. בעבר נחשפים האירועים אשר הובילו לחטיפה, סיפורן של החטופות, ומעט מהקורות אותן במרתף האימים. בהווה מנסות הדמויות לפתור תעלומה הקשורה בחטיפה (שאירעה 10 שנים קודם לכן) ועורכות מסע בלשי שבסופו פתרון וטוויסט מפתיע, שבעיניי היה די מאכזב ביחס לעוצמה של הספר.