Review : The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher
The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher
Pages : 384
Genre : YA, Mystery
Stand alone
My Rating : 3/5
About the Book :
What really happened that wild night? Emily knows in her bones that her father is innocent — isn’t he? Before he’s convicted, she’s got to find out the truth. Does Damon Hilary, Ashlee’s charismatic boyfriend, have the answers? Or is he only playing games with her — the kinds of games that can kill?
My Thoughts :
The Killing Woods is a thriller with a good premise supported by good writing. The pace is a bit slow, as it often is with psychological thrillers, so I didn’t mind that : I love a story that burns down slowly to explode on the ending, in a rain or revelations and twists!
However, I wouldn’t say that the book succeeded on this. For one thing, the final revelation was predictable and, a worst offense maybe, uninteresting. I’d had a hard time caring for the characters, it’s true, and so maybe that’s why I didn’t care much about who-did-it. I’m also a bit confused about the “game” some of the characters were playing, and which was a big part of the story…
It’s a bit surprising to me that I didn’t enjoy the characters much, since I actually loved the narration. It alternates between Emily and Damon, and the author managed to give them both very distinct voices. But I never really “got” their characters or felt interested enough by them to truly care about the ending.
I also thought it was interesting to have Emily’s father afflicted by PTSD. I was at first afraid it would merely be used as a plot device, but the author did a good job describing it fairly, with compassion.
All in all, The Killing Woods was kind of an “in between” book for me. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. It’s a feeling similar to the one I had when reading Stolen by the same author, so it’s possible we’re just not a good match after all!
Slow with an uninteresting ending? This probably isn’t for me.
I’m always looking for new mysteries and thrillers, but based on your review, I think I’ll skip this one.