What the hell. I don't know what to say truly. This was ALOT. I didn’t expect the story to turn out like this in any way shape or form. Before I start, I would like to commend the author for sticking with the same cast of characters from the first book and giving them significant and important roles into the story, making them the main characters. It felt great to know more about the characters from book 1 in a greater and much more denser depth. Now, I really loved the beginning of the book, felt like a perfect transition from the events in Book 1 and focusing more on the aftermath of how lives of people close to the victims in Book 1 are affected. So, let's talk about Pip, our protagonist. In this book we specifically focus on her and her actions much more critically than the first book, by that I mean how everything that is happening is affecting her mental state and driving her to drastic lengths. We see how the previous events from the first book left a significant impact on her which she is struggling with here and the torments and horrors that she has to go through in a much more detailed lens. As the story progresses we see the mental stability of Pip deteriorating and her being burdened by all the pressure, hopes, expectations and connections suffocating her to a corner inside her mind. And how she snaps out of everything and that "mask" that she keeps wearing concealing her true self to meet the expectations and hopes of people close to her. This was triggered by the ongoing actions, how injustice can bury down righteousness and how Pip, who fought so hard for this truth is now blamed and framed as the liar. In this book, we observe Pips psychology and her perception of justice and crimes in a deeper and more critical manner. We, the reader can feel her as our hearts too beat faster with each passing moment throughout the book (props to the author for such an engaging writing style) We see how corrupting and dehumanising the society can turn up to be and how people's actions leave a lasting impact on the affected souls and how such lasting impacts can take the shape of a devil conquering the minds of the affected and making commit to inhumane and immoral actions as their view of humanity and justice is blurred by the overbearing shadow of grief and vengeance. How horrifying the concept of revenge is as it spreads through the mind of the people like a lethal poison numbing their view of right and wrong and making them corrupted with each passing moment. We also get to see how immature and irrational a person truly is in dire moments and the psychological changes of most adolescents this age, how maturity is a thing that doesn’t come with growing ages but with being down to Earth and accepting the reality of the brutal world. Not only this, but we get to see the terror and horrors of the victims family in a much more deeper and agonizing way, how the family of the victim breaks apart and how the everlasting agony and dread takes over their heart as hopes are wiped away with each passing moment. The helplessness and cry of the human kind in such life or death situations and how it twists and turns your insides and makes your heart sink, the petrifying horror and fear in their eyes and that single beg for their prayers to come true. Lastly, I would like to say how unfair lives can be for people related to criminals, how their entire existence is wiped away by the society, how they are always deemed to insult, disgust and are always looked nastily with hatred by the society's eyes. And how their lives are always prone to danger and disaster. The ending had a lasting impact on me and the story concludes in a melancholic tone portraying a feel of grief and despair. I really liked the book, and the shift from whodunnit mystery to the lives of people and the terrors and aftermath of crime investigation. Which was beautifully transitioned by the author. The book was both enjoyable and thrilling combined with tense and melancholy, giving me no moments of boredom and mundanity. It is not perfect but it is a great book, so yeah. I buddy read it with a close friend of mine, she finished it way earlier than me but I'm glad that we could discuss this book and share our feelings for it. Love the experience and there's another book in the series for me to savour. I might start it a bit later on, I wont jump into it right away. Yeah, that's it. Thank you!
by manthan_zzzz