Having binge read the book and enjoyed its great pacing and delivery of evidence the series unfortunately falls flat to the high expectations created.
Let's start by the characters. The book itself doesn't dive very deep into the relationships and the development of the people involved. However the series is even more uninterested in highlighting the emotional depth and challenges of the characters. Even main ones like Ravi's and Pip's, their emotional moments feel forced and not very analysed. The others involved, friends family and suspects all feel like fillers for the episodes to reach the time limit, not actual people like in the books.
The acting is not bad but definitely not brilliant either. At times too Disney Channel-y which makes sense bc of the ya vibe of the book but still unable to connect with the viewers at high impactful moments.
Picture is interesting at times, convincing enough for a small town scenery, but the colouring seems a bit off. The saturation feels a little bit much like you're watching descendants on Disney+ and not a teenage murder mystery. All of this to say, we dont need another Riverdale or Winx Saga but at times it took from the broodiness and darkness of the story.
Now the plot, having read the book I was about to scream at whoever write the f script because so much important information (hints about the end) were not revealed until the very end. Six episodes were short for that amount of information and pacing was weird as it felt like we were stuck for about 2 episodes of nothing happening.
Characters were basically assassinated for the sake of the episode's length which created patchy and awkward pauses in the story.
All in all, I expected much more from the story. I think so much was lost because of the writing to be honest. Directorial choices were weird. I feel like a voice-over or even segments that showed the evidence a little bit like the book would help understand Pip's progress in the mystery and help engage with the viewers.
So sad bc this could have been an easy win. Next time consoder asking the readers and stick to the book more .
