I agree, this is interesting. I had this conversation with my husband once, on the topic of why some books are liked by some people and disliked by others. He said it’s because if you like something very much about the book, you are ready to ignore all the flaws. Just like you said, you glazed over them. I had the same situation with The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock, for example. I loved the writing and the intricate setting so much that I didn’t mind that it was slow sometimes, but some people couldn’t bare it. Probably because they didn’t care about the writing at all. Thus, I think it’s the same with this book. I didn’t have anything to really like in this book and it made me notice all the other things.

I noticed ratings often lie, especially when it comes to thrillers.