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Yun's Reviews > Someone We Know
Someone We Know
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I've really come to enjoy Shari Lapena's writing style, and for me, this is her best story yet.
Someone We Know takes place in a tranquil suburb of New York. Robert Pierce reports that his beautiful young wife Amanda is missing. Did she leave on her own or has something sinister happened to her? The police arrive in the neighborhood, and proceed to unearth the residents' every secret. And there are so many, because everyone has something to hide.
Lapena has the most interesting style. It's sparse and action-driven, so it feels like something is happening with every sentence. There are no unnecessary descriptions, no overwrought emotion, no dilly-dallying or indulgence. Every page is stripped to only the most essential, so the pacing feels taut and brisk. It makes for a riveting read, leaving me to turn the pages as fast as I could.
The mystery itself plays out like a whodunit, with plenty of suspects among a small pool of characters, and red herrings galore. Each character has secrets they want to keep hidden, and as those are revealed one by one, the twists and turns make for a truly entertaining read.
I actually sniffed out where this was going earlier on, but there were still plenty of twists I didn't see coming that kept me guessing till the very end. My only small gripe is that not everything was explained; there was a small point left purposefully unclear and I had been looking forward to its explanation.
This is one of the most fun contemporary mysteries I've come across. Usually I find this genre to be a complete disappointment, with all the drama coming from characters boozing and acting crazy and confused. Thank goodness this book doesn't employ such cheap tricks. It reads like a breath of fresh air. Shari Lapena has been getting better with each of her books, and I can't wait to read more from her.
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See also, my thoughts on:
Not a Happy Family
Everyone Here Is Lying
The Couple Next Door
An Unwanted Guest
~~~~~~~~~~~~
� Connect with me � �
Someone We Know takes place in a tranquil suburb of New York. Robert Pierce reports that his beautiful young wife Amanda is missing. Did she leave on her own or has something sinister happened to her? The police arrive in the neighborhood, and proceed to unearth the residents' every secret. And there are so many, because everyone has something to hide.
Lapena has the most interesting style. It's sparse and action-driven, so it feels like something is happening with every sentence. There are no unnecessary descriptions, no overwrought emotion, no dilly-dallying or indulgence. Every page is stripped to only the most essential, so the pacing feels taut and brisk. It makes for a riveting read, leaving me to turn the pages as fast as I could.
The mystery itself plays out like a whodunit, with plenty of suspects among a small pool of characters, and red herrings galore. Each character has secrets they want to keep hidden, and as those are revealed one by one, the twists and turns make for a truly entertaining read.
I actually sniffed out where this was going earlier on, but there were still plenty of twists I didn't see coming that kept me guessing till the very end. My only small gripe is that not everything was explained; there was a small point left purposefully unclear and I had been looking forward to its explanation.
This is one of the most fun contemporary mysteries I've come across. Usually I find this genre to be a complete disappointment, with all the drama coming from characters boozing and acting crazy and confused. Thank goodness this book doesn't employ such cheap tricks. It reads like a breath of fresh air. Shari Lapena has been getting better with each of her books, and I can't wait to read more from her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
See also, my thoughts on:
Not a Happy Family
Everyone Here Is Lying
The Couple Next Door
An Unwanted Guest
~~~~~~~~~~~~
� Connect with me � �
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Someone We Know.
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Reading Progress
May 9, 2020
–
Started Reading
May 9, 2020
– Shelved
May 11, 2020
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 119 (119 new)
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Richard (on hiatus)
(new)
May 14, 2020 09:45AM
Sounds good ....... I certainly enjoy taut, plot driven thrillers - nice review Yun.
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Your review may have just saved Shari as an author for me. I've read 2 other books by her and I was just not with her either time by more than 3 stars. Perhaps I could try one of newer novels?? Great review Yun. You gave me something to think about
I’m with Kelli! She’s hit and miss for me but I like the sound of this one. Great review Yun 🤗
I agree with you what you said Yun but especially the one with Shari Lapena’s writing style!! It’s very gripping. Good review!
Richard wrote: "Sounds good ....... I certainly enjoy taut, plot driven thrillers - nice review Yun."Thanks, Richard! :)
Kelli wrote: "Your review may have just saved Shari as an author for me. I've read 2 other books by her and I was just not with her either time by more than 3 stars. Perhaps I could try one of newer novels?? Gre..."Yes, try this one, Kelli! I felt the same as you. I didn't like "The Couple Next Door", and I thought "An Unwanted Guest" was middle of the road. I've enjoyed her writing throughout, but her plot has been just ok until now. If you enjoy your her writing style, I'd encourage you to give her one more try. :)
Ceecee wrote: "I’m with Kelli! She’s hit and miss for me but I like the sound of this one. Great review Yun 🤗"Thanks, Ceecee! Like I was telling Kelli above, I feel the same. I didn't like "The Couple Next Door" (her first book), and found "An Unwanted Guest" (her third book) to be middle of the road. With this book, her plot really came together for me, and combined with her writing style, which I've always enjoyed, I feel like she's finally hit upon a winner.
Oscar (oscarjustreads) � wrote: "I agree with you what you said Yun but especially the one with Shari Lapena’s writing style!! It’s very gripping. Good review!"Thanks, Oscar! I'm glad to see you felt the same, and enjoyed this book and her writing style! :)
good review Yun! I have not read her yet but I have a couple of her novels in my unread library. Though I just started another by Blake Crouch your review will expedite me reading one of hers.
I love this review and agree with every word!
Great review Yun! I sure hope her next book is just as good :D
Terrific review Yun! Glad you enjoyed!
Wonderful review, Yun! Glad that you enjoyed it.
Luna wrote: "good review Yun! I have not read her yet but I have a couple of her novels in my unread library. Though I just started another by Blake Crouch your review will expedite me reading one of hers."Thanks, Luna! When you get around to her, I do recommend you start with this one. She's a bit of hit or miss for me, but this one is my fav of hers. I look forward to seeing what you think! :)
Dita wrote: "I love this review and agree with every word!"Thanks, Dita! I'm glad we both totally enjoyed this book! :)
Federico wrote: "Great review Yun! I sure hope her next book is just as good :D"Thanks, Federico! Me too... I hope this is the start of a winning streak for her books! :)
Kaceey wrote: "Terrific review Yun! Glad you enjoyed!"Thanks, Kaceey! I'm glad we both enjoyed this one! :)
Mary Beth wrote: "Wonderful review, Yun! Glad that you enjoyed it."Thanks, Mary Beth! :)
Excellent review, Yun! I'll have to check this out. Sounds really good. Glad you enjoyed it!
Great review, Yun!! I need to get started on this one! 💖
Fantastic review, Yun! I have only read one book by this author and I wasn't impressed. You might have just convinced me to give her another shot! Glad you enjoyed!
I never read that much in the mystery genre, but this is a terrific review that makes me want to get my hands on this one!
Wonderful review. I will have to see about adding it to my TBR list. But I do wonder why that explanation of that small point was left out? Was it purposefully left ambiguous - something like the ending of Inception? Or just a piece of the story that could have been explained, but wasn't for unknown reasons?
Great review, Yun! I liked An Unwanted Guest, my first Lapena book and would read more from her - might have to check this one out! :)
This sounds like a novel worth reading! I too find this genre disappointing, but read it on occasion. Thank you, Yun--Happy Reading:)
Agree, a breath of fresh air. Great review Yun!!
No cheap tricks! Yay! Sounds like one for me. Terrific review, Yun.
Drama from characters boozing does seem like a cheap trick. I hadn’t thought about this as a plot device before. Great review Yun!
RedemptionDenied wrote: "Excellent review, Yun! I'll have to check this out. Sounds really good. Glad you enjoyed it!"Thanks, RedemptionDenied! If you do check it out, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :)
Julie wrote: "Great review, Yun!! I need to get started on this one! 💖"Thanks, Julie! Look forward to seeing your thoughts when you get around to this! 💗
Meredith wrote: "Fantastic review, Yun! I have only read one book by this author and I wasn't impressed. You might have just convinced me to give her another shot! Glad you enjoyed!"Thanks, Meredith! Like you, I haven't been too impressed with her previous books either, but I think she's finally hit upon a winner with this one. If you do end up giving it a shot, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :)
Elizabeth wrote: "I never read that much in the mystery genre, but this is a terrific review that makes me want to get my hands on this one!"Awesome, Elizabeth! I hope my recommendation is a good one, and you end up enjoying this too! :)
Christi wrote: "Wonderful review. I will have to see about adding it to my TBR list. But I do wonder why that explanation of that small point was left out? Was it purposefully left ambiguous - something like the e..."Thanks, Christi! Yes exactly, it's a bit like the end of Inception, where there is still a question left open-ended. Personally, I prefer all my questions wrapped up by the end, but I know this is a common enough style now-a-days in a lot of thrillers/mysteries. :)
Brandice wrote: "Great review, Yun! I liked An Unwanted Guest, my first Lapena book and would read more from her - might have to check this one out! :)"Thanks, Brandice! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed An Unwanted Guest and might be checking out more of her books. If you end up reading this one, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :)
Michelle wrote: "This sounds like a novel worth reading! I too find this genre disappointing, but read it on occasion. Thank you, Yun--Happy Reading:)"Thanks, Michelle! Yes, this one actually paid off, and was great fun, so I was quite happy with it! :)
Holly wrote: "Agree, a breath of fresh air. Great review Yun!!"Thanks, Holly! I'm glad you thought the same, and we both really enjoyed this one! :)
Marialyce wrote: "No cheap tricks! Yay! Sounds like one for me. Terrific review, Yun."Thanks, Marialyce! Haha... if you end up giving this a try, I hope you enjoy it! :)
Gary wrote: "Drama from characters boozing does seem like a cheap trick. I hadn’t thought about this as a plot device before. Great review Yun!"Thanks, Gary! I see it everywhere with female characters in psychological thrillers... it drives me crazy haha! I'm glad this story abstained. :)
Great words of recommendation! Adding this one to the “to read� list 😎
Great review Yun...I enjoyed this one, too!
Great review! Glad you enjoyed this too Yun!
Laura wrote: "Great words of recommendation! Adding this one to the “to read� list 😎"Thanks, Laura! All right... I'm glad I convinced you! When you get to this, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)
Dorie - Cats&Books :) wrote: "Great review :)"Thanks, Dorie! :)
marilyn wrote: "Great review Yun...I enjoyed this one, too!"Thanks, Marilyn! I'm glad we both enjoyed this one! :)
Lindsay - Traveling Sister wrote: "Great review! Glad you enjoyed this too Yun!"Thanks, Lindsay! I'm glad we both found this one to be a winner! :)
Glad this was a great read. I have a book by this author and haven’t given it a go yet.... I must soon ... so much to read 😊😊
Sandra wrote: "Glad this was a great read. I have a book by this author and haven’t given it a go yet.... I must soon ... so much to read 😊😊"Thanks, Sandra! Haha I totally know what you mean... so many books, so little time! I hope you get to it soon and enjoy it! :)
I’ve been on the fence with this author and it’s good to know she gets better with every book. I’ll keep this one in mind after reading your terrific review Yun!
JanB wrote: "I’ve been on the fence with this author and it’s good to know she gets better with every book. I’ll keep this one in mind after reading your terrific review Yun!"Thanks, Jan! Her books are hit or miss for me too, but this one was finally a winner for me. if you get around to this, I hope you find it as entertaining as I did! :)
