I loved the book, excellent read!

Enjoyed this one a lot, especially the geographical aspects

Captivating true-life murder mystery. The first third of this book was riveting, couldn't put it down. Once the trial started it was much slower reading, but still interesting. I enjoyed it.

I am VERY stingy with my one star reviews, but I felt this book merited it. The main character and narrator was completely judgemental and fatphobic. A few more remarkable instances included immediately ruling out one woman as a suspect because she was so large she definitely couldn't sneak around. Rude. Later, the main character described a female police officer as being "short and round, probably much rounder than she wanted to be." Why was it necessary to include how the cop should feel about her body? And this was coming from a main character who wanted to escape her family in Boston who she criticized for being too concerned with appearances and too vain. Pretty hypocritical. I also thought that there were multiple examples of lazy writing. The main character was too trusting of virtual strangers. This woman was only working at the library for THREE DAYS, and despite all evidence incriminating her boss, the main character feels that she knows her boss well enough to know she would never commit murder or theft. Yeah, okay. The mystery was also written lazily. (Spoiler: it's the only character literally no one suspects. Did you think this guy seemed like a weird, unnecessary sidekick for the author to talk about so much? Yeah, you're right.) The characters had no depth, using the copout of the crazy/obsessed trope. This character must have other interests or desires, or at least a background story as to why they have come to be this way, but don't go looking for any of that in this book. Not worth the read.

This book was a true mystery. It ended on a much different tone than it began and I grew to love the characters. Unlike some murder mystery series. This book was not formulaic. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. It takes place in 1990 Ireland and it was of interest to notice differences in the US at that time and Ireland. I am a HUGE British who done it fan and this was great.

In these times of racial divide in our country this book shows both blacks and whites a peaceful path to reconciliation. In very non-preachy terms, but using the Bible and Christian themes the author is very practical in ways to come together and learn from each other. I loved this book so much that I bought it, and have shared with with many friends and family. I highly recommend this book!

Kinda dragged on. Interesting, but too much gratuitous (real) violence for my liking.

A really unique story told with no shortage of comedy, wit and sarcasm! I loved how this story undercut the patriarchy and misogyny of the Victorian era while still allowing its characters to be unapologetically feminine. (Of course there's a little romance in there as well!) I had no clue what I was getting myself into with this book, but I'm so very glad I picked it up!

Sepetys is one of my favorite YA authors. Her historical fiction novels are meticulously researched and chock full of interesting and multi-dimensional characters. This title doesn't disappoint. Set in the post-Spanish Civil War during Franco's reign of terror, it follows the connections forged between an American teen whose family is conducting business in the country and a Spanish teen whose family has suffered under the repressive regime. It sheds light on a long-forgotten and heartbreaking time in Spanish-American relations and adds an incredibly sweet love story!

This author used comedy to discuss his perspective of growing up and living with autism in Canada. I think he did a great job of tackling stereotypes of autism. I found it a little confusing that he kept emphasizing that no two people with autism are quite the same, but then made some sweeping generalizations of people with autism himself. However, I think overall this was a great read and helps neurotypicals understand the thought processes and habits of people with autism, promoting empathy for and an understanding of people with autism while not coming off as “preachy.”