Heartstopper

Summary: Girls are being murdered in a small town. No one knows who the killer is and no one will feel safe until the killer is caught.

My Rating:
3/5

I ended up having a really weird time with this book and overall mixed feelings about it.

I liked the mystery. I didn't necessarily guess who the killer was early on but there was a point in the book where I decided that if the killer wasn't a certain character the story was going to really suck and the author did have that character as the murderer. It was exactly who the murderer needed to be and overall it was fine mystery. There were red herrings and misdirection but when the killer was revealed everything made sense.

The mystery was about the only thing I really liked in this book. show more There were multiple POV characters and I had a hard time connecting with any of them. We do get the killer's POV several times and, while I understood why they did what they did I also felt that hearing their thoughts on the murders took away the sympathy I might otherwise have had for the killer because of why they killed and the parts of the killing they most enjoyed.

This book has a lot of discussion about the way people look and their physical appearance. I am a plus sized woman and maybe I was just too close to the subject matter but this book bothered me. The killer tells us early on that they are killing "Heartstoppers" or, in other words, attractive women. This is a hugely important topic in the book but it also made me uncomfortable at times especially with all the judgment about people with less than perfect bodies or bodies altered to appear perfect. I sometimes felt the way the book focused on things like breasts being real or fake was a bit much and I felt like the book could have looked at the issues of appearance and beauty in a less gross way.

Another issue I had with this book was that pretty much all the men were terrible. I really hate books that show one gender or group of people all being awful. Some of it was necessary to the plot of the book but other times there was no reason for the men to be the way they were and it sometimes felt borderline man-hating. There is a man who abuses his wife. There are several adulterers. And, there are so many sexual assault perpetrators. I assume this was done to create suspects but that didn't change the fact I noticed it and was put off by the fact that even the male sheriff who is investigating the murders isn't a "good" guy.

If you like mysteries and thrillers this book might be worth a try. It wasn't a terrible book it was just a book that didn't mesh with my personal tastes. show less

When I'm in the mood for a good mystery, Joy Fielding is one of my turn-to authors. I enjoyed this one and was entertained, but it isn't a story that will stay with me.

Some of the characters are walking, talking stereotypes, but I can live with that; this isn't supposed to be classic literature. The mystery was interesting, but I guessed who-dun-it too early, and I'm not especially good at guessing the murderer in mysteries.

I wasn't a fan of the pit bull analogy early in the book:

“If he were an animal, Sandy thought, he'd be a pit bull. And she'd be the poor toy poodle he was about to tear limb from limb....”

Give the pits a break. It really wasn't necessary to pick on the easily maligned dogs and pit bulls didn't have anything to show more do with the story.

This was an entertaining, light summer read, if you are someone whose idea of summer fun is reading about murder, like I am. A good book for the genre. show less

Couldn't decided whether to give this 2 stars or 3. It was an ok book. The killer seemed a little obvious to me, although attempts were made to cast others as suspects too.

About a third of the way through the book, there is a scene where Sandy goes to the house of Will, a guy she just met in a bar. I could swear I have read that exact same scene before. I couldn't decide if that meant I had read this book before and just forgot, or if that scene is just a cliche of dating.

A lot of characters to keep track of, and a lot of switching between viewpoints. I thought the relationship between Cal and Fiona was especially creepy, an a very disturbing way. It seems like there are a lot of dysfunctional people living in that little town.

From Goodreads:

"Welcome to Torrance, Florida. Population: 4,160. As Sheriff John Weber would attest, the deadliest predators to date in his tiny hamlet were the alligators lurking in the nearby swamps. But that was before someone abducted and murdered a runaway teenage girl...and before the disappearance of popular and pretty Liana Martin. The pattern is chilling to Sandy Crosbie, the town's new high school English teacher. With a marriage on the rocks, thanks to her husband's online affairs, and a beautiful teenage daughter to protect, Sandy wishes she'd never come to the seemingly quiet town with shocking depths of scandal, sex, and brutality roiling beneath its surface. And as Sheriff Weber digs up more questions than answers in a show more dead-end investigation, one truth emerges: the prettiest ones are being targeted, the heartstoppers. And this killer intends to give them their due...."

My Thoughts:

Sorry guys, but this is a review that I've been putting off forever. How I fell so far behind I cannot say but this review was pushed to the back burner which is why I borrowed Goodread's summary. This is only my 2nd book by Fielding and it was just as good as the first book. Fielding has a knack for writing page turners that keep the reader guessing throughout the story. And I was definitely guessing...trying to figure out who the killer was while I was reading. Heartstopper is told through multiple viewpoints which may throw some readers off but for me it added to the story. I liked seeing the other character's thoughts and felt that the different viewpoints added to the mystery of the story. Sandy was an interesting main character as she wasn't always likeable for me but I still wanted good things for her and for her to find some self confidence. This book had a lot of emphasis on looks, beauty, and the things that people will to attain beauty. At times I felt that the author was pushing the point a bit much but overall it was a good read. I didn't see the ending coming by a mile and never did figure the killer out. As I was turning pages as fast as I could, it ended up being an enjoyable read for me. I will most certainly be reading more from this author in the future. show less

I did not care for the killer's journal entries. Too unsettling to be entertaining. Story takes place in a small Florida town. Most of the action comes from the high school students in the town. Constant references about the hellish experiences of being overweight and how beauty is paramount to happiness. Sounded to me too much like a message was being sent.

Not the strongest book by her but I was interested enough to keep on reading. There are a lot of characters that she wants you to think are the killer but after reading about half of the book I did get an inkling who it was and I was right.
A bit weird though, not really realistic but I did enjoy the read. Quick paced. Loved the deputy ;)

good mystery
pretty teenage girls — disappearing

Welcome to Torrance, Florida. Population: 4,160. As Sheriff John Weber would attest, the deadliest predators to date in his tiny hamlet were the alligators lurking in the nearby swamps. But that was before someone abducted and murdered a runaway teenage girl...and before the disappearance of popular and pretty Liana Martin. The pattern is chilling to Sandy Crosbie, the town's new high school English teacher. With a marriage on the rocks, thanks to her husband's online affairs, and a beautiful teenage daughter to protect, Sandy wishes she'd never come to the seemingly quiet town with shocking depths of scandal, sex, and brutality roiling beneath its surface. And as Sheriff Weber digs up show more more questions than answers in a dead-end investigation, one truth emerges: the prettiest ones are being targeted, the heartstoppers. And this killer intends to give them their due.... show less