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There are currently 17 member reviews
for Bright and Tender Dark
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Darra W. (Mendocino, CA)
Nope ...
I was so looking forward to losing myself in Joanna Pearson's debut novel, Bright and Tender Dark! Instead I found myself working much too hard through a meandering plot and superfluous characters to reach the "big reveal" ... and then whodunit? While I appreciate the attempt to introduce a more "literary" entry into an already-crowded genre, this one sadly lacks the tight pacing necessary to keep those pages turning. Not much to see here.
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Kathy (southern ME)
Strong Start, Disappointing End
Since the publishers insisted Bright and Tender Dark is not a thriller or mystery (not genres I typically enjoy), I decided to stretch my reading muscles and try something different. I loved the first several chapters of Pearson's novel about a murdered college student. The book alternates between time periods - Karlie is murdered in early 2000 and her roommate re-examines this chapter of her life nearly two decades later. Besides alternating timelines, the story is also told through myriad characters.
At first, I enjoyed the varying points of view as there seemed to be an interesting through-line in the novel. Yet as I read further, I realized many of these viewpoints didn't add anything to the story and seem to distract from the most important plotlines. For example, one chapter follows Joy (Karlie's roommate)'s son who never met Karlie and adds nothing to Joy's reflections or investigations of the crime. Pearson has a penchant for fancy vocabulary and it didn't suit every character despite these uncommon words being sprinkled through nearly every chapter. The editors also seemed to miss Pearson's love for describing character's faces in varying forms of light - there are so many examples of faces being illuminated by everything from flashlights to car dashboards.
By the end of the book, I found myself losing patience. The characters don't tie together in a meaningful way at the end, and while we do find out what happened to Karlie on the fateful night of the murder, some of the key players aren't explored until near the end of the novel (they are, to be fair, introduced fairly early in the book, but just left as passing references). So, while this started a four star read, it felt like a weak two star read by the close of the novel. I don't know that I would read another book by Pearson (but, on the bright side, I didn't find the book too gory or gratuitous so maybe I will continue to branch out in that sense!).
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Susan H. (Mount Kisco, NY)
Underwhelmed !!
I love a mystery but this was not interesting enough to finish. ! didn't like the characters - much too wordy and difficult to follow. There are many novels about professors and student affairs that makes u want to be one of the characters or afraid you might get caught but this one didn't do it for me. i didn't care what happened to the characters.
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Nanette C. (Sarasota, FL)
Never Drew Me In
I love a good murder mystery, but this one didn't do it for me. It would seem to have all the required elements -- the murder of a promising college co-ed, an illicit affair, multiple suspects, a former roommate feverishly trying to solve the case 30 years on -- but it just never drew me in. Close but no cigar for this reader.
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Sylvia G. (Scottsdale, AZ)
Read Makkai instead
I recently read Rebecca Makkai's novel that covers the same ground as this novel. Campus murder, sleazy professor, podcast about the old murder and someone obsessed with it 20 years later. This was a seriously inferior version. Characters that were hard to care about, choppy change of time frame and character voices and an ending that was not particularly satisfying to me. Much ado about not enough. Read Makkai!
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Beth Martin, NYC
A dark but not tender mystery
I was excited to read this book after it was promoted as similar to Notes on an Execution. That was a book I loved. Unfortunately for me, it didn't live up to the hype. The premise is compelling. Karlie,, a University of North Carolina student, is found murdered in her college apartment. After 20 years, questions arise about killed her and why. Joy, her college friend, finds a 20 year old letter from Karlie that convinces her that the man who was convicted for her murder was wrongly accused. The story moves from 2019 to 1999 when the murder took place. Eventually through a multitude of voices, the dark web, Reddit and evangelical beliefs the mystery is well solved. My problem with the book was that there were too many characters, some not essential to the story and way too many plot points I read to the end to find out what happened, but I was really not invested in this story.
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Dan W. (Fort Myers, FL)
Missing Readability
I should mention upfront, that this genre of book is my least favorite. I took the plunge with this book because I was intrigued by the book title: Bright and Tender Dark. I was hoping for a quick and engrossing read. Unfortunately, for me, that didn't happen. I made several attempts, but unfortunately I didn't make it to end. In my opinion, was just too choppy and difficult to hold my attention. Sorry to be the bear of an unfavorable review.
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