Four women—friends, family, rivals—turn to online dating for companionship, only to find themselves in the crosshairs of a tech-savvy killer using an app to target his victims in this harrowing thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of See Jane Run and The Bad Daughter. Online dating is risky—will that message be a sweet greeting or an unsolicited lewd photo? Will he be as handsome … unsolicited lewd photo? Will he be as handsome in real life as he is in his photos, or were they taken ten years and twenty pounds ago? And when he asks you to go home with him, how do you know it’s safe? The man calling himself “Mr. Right Now” in his profile knows that his perfect hair, winning smile, and charming banter put women at ease, silencing any doubts they might have about going back to his apartment. There, he has a special evening all planned out: steaks, wine, candlelight . . . and, by the end of the night, pain and a slow, agonizing death.
Driven to desperation—by divorce, boredom, infidelity, a beloved husband’s death—a young woman named Paige, her cousin and rival Heather, her best friend, Chloe, and her mother, Joan, all decide to try their hand at online dating. They each download an app, hoping to right-swipe their way to love and happiness.
But one of them unwittingly makes a date with the killer, starting the clock on a race to save her life.
New York Times bestselling author Joy Fielding has written a complex, electrifying thriller about friendship, jealousy, and passion—a deadly combination.
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I don’t know what it is about books that highlight the dangers of on-line dating but I am such a sucker for a good one and this one is great!
Paige, her bestie Chloe, her mom, Joan, and her hilariously awful cousin, Heather, all dip their toes in the pool of on-line dating. One of them will intersect with a serial killer who calls himself Mr. Right Now.
Told from multiple POVs, including the killer’s, which I always love, this book managed to be funny (usually Heather’s awfulness but also some of the killer’s perspectives and observations), scary, and compulsively readable.
Thank you to Joy Fielding, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Joy Fielding offers an eerie account of what can happen when a serial killer lingers in the anonymity of online dating.
While this book started out with potential and strong character build, the narrative ended up feeling drawn out and convoluted as we waited to see how all the cursory characters melted into the main plot. It felt as if there were two separate stories being told at multiple points in the book. Unfortunately, this unwoven plot took away from the anticipation element. It ended up being predictable and an overall mediocre read. 3 stars.
Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC of #AllTheWrongPlaces in exchange for an honest review.
An unpredictable page turner. Once again Joy Fielding doesn’t disappoint!
This book didn’t really hold my attention. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen but was disappointed. I figured out the twist way before the end.
Hated the ending. Not enough action to really keep me imterested
I was misled by the cover art and title. Yes, the story is about online dating and the quest to fond “Mr. Right”, but it’s more about a sadistic serial killer who uses dating sites to lure his victims. He ultimately tortures and kills them. I bailed on the Kindle version at 28%, when “Mr. Right Now” was pondering how to torture and defile his next victims- a mother/daughter duo. Should he torture one while the other is forced to watch? — This sadistic story is not what I expected or wanted.
Paige and her cousin, Heather, have a bit of a rivalry going on. They look close enough to be mistaken for twins, as their fathers were identical twins. Heather is always trying to get ahead of Paige, stealing her boyfriend, following her job choices, and all around making Paige miserable.
Paige is now trying out online dating sites. She tries to connect with Mr. Right Now, but things keep getting in her way. Fortunately for Paige she keeps missing connections as Mr. Right Now is a serial killer.
Chloe is Paige’s best friend, and is in the middle of a tenuous relationship with her husband, Matt. Joan is Paige’s mother, and is a widower, and is also starting to date after Paige’s father’s death. While Paige feels her life is going nowhere, she turns more frequently to communications with Mr. Right Now.
This story had some potential, but the conclusion was so obvious to me from the very beginning. I thought the conclusion was rather abrupt, as well, almost as if Ms. Fielding decided the book was long enough, and it was time to finish it and move on.
#AllTheWrongPlaces #JoyFielding
After the unexpected reveal in the first chapter I was drawn into the story immediately and found it a fast, easy read both entertaining and undemanding.
Highlighting the dangers of online dating and the emotional turmoil of choosing a date, there’s enough in this book to put me off online dating websites for life, if I was so inclined. The fact that most profiles are nearly always fake or embellished with false detail, it really does make you stop and think, who it is you’re agreeing to meet in ‘real’ life after chatting through social media.
I liked how the chapters were written through the different perspectives of the women protagonists with the odd one interspersed from the killer, though I personally would have liked more from him and more detail of his actions. There were some chillingly tense and very unsettling moments scattered about but maybe not enough of them to say this story was full of tension and fear. I also felt there was maybe a touch too long between his chapters to keep the tension mounting.
I don’t think this story is meant to be a serious physiological thriller but a more of a lighthearted look at the dangers of online dating, the bitchiness of women and the arrogance of good looking men who are constantly depicted as players, incorporating a brutal serial killer into the story.
This is the second book I’ve read of late that have portrayed men in a very bad light along with the gullible and helpless women of said men. I’m not sure I took to any of the characters, Joan was perhaps the most realistic, venturing back onto the dating scene after the death of her husband, although I’m not sure I could picture a seventy year old woman with half her hair shaved off.
“All the Wrong Places” kept me entertained and turning the pages and I can’t ask for much more than that from a book, it was fun, satirical, at times tense and had an ending that was very apt. Joy Fielding is an excellent writer whose books I have enjoyed before and I would definitely seek out more by her again.
I have read every book that Joy Fielding has written so when I got this one I was so very excited. She is a great thriller writer, but this one was a tiny bit of a disappointment. It had all the makings of a great thriller. It had the killer, victims, reasons, friends, family, everything you would expect from one of Ms Fielding’s books. The problem I had was that it didn’t focus that much on the killer. I mean it had him of course and it told some vague things about what he did. He was very evil but it gave no reason for why he did what he did. The ending felt unfinished. The last girl, who was a key player in this book, was never mentioned. She was never found??? The killer disappeared without a trace? What was up with that unless maybe there is going to be a sequel which I highly doubt because I have never read one of her books that didn’t end and the bad guy always got caught.
While I did enjoy this book it just didn’t seem like the other books that this author has written. I felt kind of cheated. I liked the characters. They were well developed and you will feel like you know them. You will love to hate about three of them and love the rest. I loved the things that came out of the mouths of Chloe’s children. They were so funny. I was glad she decided to have a life and be happy and that her and Paige were so close. I can’t say much without giving things away though. Paige’s mom was a very nice lady and I was happy she found love at 70. Gives us hope that some things don’t die when we get older. Ha ha But seriously…..
I have to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for the ARC of this book.
I only gave this a 4 star rating because of some things noted above. I did enjoy it and I do recommend it to my friends who love to read. It was an enjoyable book. Just a bit off for other books I have read by this author. I will continue to read her books though and wait for another one.
This book is a page turner. Love the characters and the story is something different.
This book was absolutely one of the best thrillers that I have read in a long time! The author knew just when to increase the suspense and then how to keep the reader waiting and wanting more. When the story begins, Paige is suffering from a broken heart, caused by none other than her conniving cousin Heather. Joan, Paige’s mother, is feeling old and at loose ends, after being a widow for a few years. Chloe, Paige’s best friend, is suffering a crisis of her own when she finds out that her husband Matt may have been unfaithful. At first, it seemed like a lot of characters to keep up with, but actually, they all had some strong personalities that the book took on a life of its own, like a really engrossing movie. The final character worth mentioning in a review is Mr. Right Now, Paige’s contact on a dating site who may or may not be what she is hoping for. The story is so fast-paced that it’s like a whirlwind of drama or a high-speed locomotive. I enjoyed the relationships between the characters and I particularly liked that the protagonist, Paige, was easy to like. I found myself almost holding my breath when Paige’s life was in imminent danger, again and again. Of course, the reader is not meant to like Heather because she is extremely obnoxious, so I didn’t like her at all, although I did kind of pity her for her shallow life. This book has it all: love gained and lost, love for a lifetime, a parent’s neglect, unemployment, and a serial killer. Put it all together and it all adds up to one fantastic book!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”