Paper Ghosts Review

Title: Paper Ghosts
Author: Julia Heaberlin
Series: Not Applicable
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: 19 April 2018
Source: Penguin Random House South Africa
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 368
Rating: 3 Stars
Reading Timeline: 20 October 2018 - 31 October 2018


Goodreads Synopsis:


Carl Louis Feldman is an old man who was once a celebrated photographer.


That was before he was tried for the murder of a young woman and acquitted.




Before his admission to a care home for dementia




Now his daughter has come to see him, to take him on a trip.
Only she's not his daughter and, if she has her way, he's not coming back . . .




Because Carl's past has finally caught up with him. The young woman driving the car is convinced her passenger is guilty, and that he's killed other young women. Including her sister Rachel.
Now they're following the trail of his photographs, his clues, his alleged crimes. To see if he remembers any of it. Confesses to any of it. To discover what really happened to Rachel.
Has Carl truly forgotten what he did or is he just pretending? Perhaps he's guilty of nothing and she's the liar.




Either way in driving him into the Texan wilderness she's taking a terrible risk.
For if Carl really is a serial killer, she's alone in the most dangerous place of all . . . 



Book Review:
Pre-reading Thoughts:

The hype surrounding Black Eyed Susans persuaded me to request this book. I wanted to see what all the hype surrounding the author was about. I also thought that it was the perfect fit for #Thrilltober.

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House South Africa for providing me with a copy of this book. Just a small disclaimer for those reading this review, I have received this book for free. Please note that this does not affect my opinion in any way. All thoughts are my own.

Writing Thoughts:

The writing was interesting especially with the added media such as excerpts from our main character's childhood diary/notebook. The pacing was there but sometimes it was slow and dragged the book down. I liked the dialogue between Carl and our main character because the tension was there, so was the emotion.

Plot Thoughts:

The plot was very long-winded. The beginning was perfect because we were still being introduced to the characters and everything was paced perfectly but after that, it felt like not much and happened. There wasn't anything driving me to pick up the because after a certain point I didn't care if Carl was the killer or not. I just wanted the book to end.

Character Thoughts:

Despite the fact that the plot was excruciating, the characters were perfect. They were complex and realistic. I was drawn to their complexities because I wanted to know more. I wanted to find out what secrets they were hiding. The author did a great job in showing the characters true nature in small glimpses.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I'm on the fence with this book. It wasn't what I expected. I most certainly did not like the plot but the characters peaked my interest. The writing was neither good nor bad. It had its moments. I probably wouldn't recommend this book for people who are plot orientated but this book is perfect for those readers who are character orientated. Thank you so much to Penguin Random House South Africa for providing me with a copy of this book!

Yours in Reading,
Melleny

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