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Fundamentally unconvincing female voice that pretty much ruined this book. Utterly unconvincing depiction of a traumatised psyche. Some might argue that that was purposeful because of the MC’s twisted ego/sociopathic nature, etc - it did not read that way to me and was very jarring from the first page. Heavy-handed and contrived. An implausible storyline. Trying to do too much (e.g. attempts at making reader question their preconceptions re sexual violence and paedophilia, attempts at commentary on dynamics between sexes and/or moral quandaries re perpetrator/victimhood) with zero sophistication. Ended with unnecessary twist that was not foreshadowed properly. On-the-nose references to “elements� to fit the theme of this quartet. Shallow characterisation of basically everyone who appeared. Unrealistic depiction of the job of a doctor/surgeon. Unrealistic dialogue between men and women; unconvincing depictions of teenage males and their use of language. Was a tense book and a page-turner through its (cheap) use of some foreshadowing and flashback scenes - but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t bad. If it wanted to address the themes it did, it was not (and arguably could not be) done well in this novella format. There was no nuance - ironic given that this book (according to the blurb) had the lofty ambition of making the reader think about the (very broad) debate of “nature v. nurture�. I have not said this ever about a book because am heavy supporter of artistic licence but it read as though it was using the dark, complex themes and shocking events to do nothing more than disturb and horrify - simply put, its gratuitous repulsiveness was (dare I say) borderline offensive to those who have suffered sexual assault/trauma. Can confidently say this was poorly conceived and executed. Should have stayed much longer in Boyne’s drafts.