NOBODY HEARD A THING by Angela Henry

2.5* Too many characters, telling too many lies, with too many things going on. Too much emphasis on the colour of various characters' skin, which as an Asian female, I found disruptive and off-putting.

This had the potential to be a really good misper tale but ended up muggy, with too many lies; too many irrelevant characters (e.g. Selma, the cook, the old lady with the non-working aircon unit); and too much emphasis on people's skin colour. I don't think I've ever read a story where every Black person's skin colour was described - it was unnecessary and off-putting. It made the 2/3 Caucasians feel like a kind of reverse inclusion, just tokens there for a quota.

The storyline started off great but never reached its potential. There was too much filler, too much happening, too many evil characters, too many with secrets, too many liars, too many without a conscience, too many 'relationships' based on lies. I lost track of who was who, as the tale was told from too many POVs. I began not to care. The book felt like it needed an editor that could be brutal and brave and weed out the filler. It was not a good read. 

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my reading pleasure.

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