Having escaped from an abduction when she was a young girl, Shea’s passion now is true crime, and she runs a website, The Book of Cold Cases.
In 1977 Having escaped from an abduction when she was a young girl, Shea’s passion now is true crime, and she runs a website, The Book of Cold Cases.
In 1977 several men were killed, and Beth Greer was charged with the murders. She was eventually acquitted, but has lived under the cloak of suspicion ever since.
Shea meets Beth and to her surprise, Beth agrees to an interview. Is Beth a cold killer who got away with it or is the true killer still at large? The story alternates between the past and the present as the story unfolds.
Such a compelling premise but for me it failed to reach its potential. The writing itself was serviceable, but I didn’t find the plot compelling and the supposedly ghostly spooky elements gave me eye rolls and chuckles instead of chills. By the halfway mark I was bored stiff and just wanted it to be done. The ending did nothing to elevate this book above a 2-star "fair" rating.
Many of my GR friends enjoyed the book, so I will put this down to the author and I simply not being a good fit.
This was a buddy read with Marialyce, do check out her review to see if we agreed!...more
I struggled with this one. At the halfway point I speed read/skimmed to the end since it was a BOTM pick, and meh….
My enjoyment of it was 2 stars at bI struggled with this one. At the halfway point I speed read/skimmed to the end since it was a BOTM pick, and meh….
My enjoyment of it was 2 stars at best. It’s as if the book didn’t know what it wanted to be. Spy thriller or humor? Or both, in which case it failed on both counts. I suppose I don’t like to mix murder and humor, as other books in this sub-genre haven’t been favorites.
It was boring as a spy thriller and I didn’t enjoy the past/present alternating timelines. I found the crude quips and one liners juvenile and they quickly grew thin.
I applaud the author for choosing mature lady protagonists but I wish she hadn’t made them so silly.
As always, this is my opinion only so do please check out the positive reviews . This was a buddy read with Marialyce. She liked this one more than I did so do check out her review!...more
Erika Krouse tells us in the opening chapters that she has one of those faces. Everyone who meets her, including strangers, spill their confessions toErika Krouse tells us in the opening chapters that she has one of those faces. Everyone who meets her, including strangers, spill their confessions to her. In 2002, a lawyer she had met just moments before, offered her a job as a PI, despite the fact that she had zero training. Since everyone spills their guts to her, this should be easy-peasy, right?
Apparently not. Maybe her face changed? Or maybe she exaggerated her abilities? I’m already questioning her reliability, which is not a good way to start a book. Maybe it’s all true but the BS alarm was already buzzing in my head. She’s very self-congratulatory about her abilities.
She ends up investigating sexual assault charges on campus colleges and the toxic culture surrounding recruitment programs and college football. The case turns into a civil rights case after a female student was raped by football players. The author uses pseudonyms and doesn’t name the university, although I’m not sure why since the case is a very old one and it’s quite easy to find online. Anyone who reads the news with any regularity is familiar with this case and the subject so nothing new was brought to the table.
Then there’s the memoir section, where she tells her life story, which includes her dating life during the time when she was investigating this case. No thanks! The author also talks a lot about her dysfunctional childhood and past sexual abuse. While I have the utmost sympathy for anyone who endures abuse, I just can't read about it anymore.
It's a memoir and the author can write whatever she wants, but I don't have to read it. I just don’t have it in me to continue on so I’m calling it quits.
* I received an audio digital copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own....more
Adam & Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland and decide to use it to celebrate their anniversary. Adam is a screenwriter and a workaholic, which isn’tAdam & Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland and decide to use it to celebrate their anniversary. Adam is a screenwriter and a workaholic, which isn’t helping their marriage. Maybe a weekend away will be just what they need to repair their relationship. Adam suffers from prosopagnosia (face blindness), but in public his wife stays by his side and helps him out when someone they know approaches. Sometimes. She can be a little passive-aggressive. This feature adds a fun and unique element to the story.
The couple, along with their dog Bob, arrive at the remote location in the midst of a raging snowstorm, and strange things begin happening, starting with a bedroom that is decorated exactly like the one they have at home. Add in a spooky old church, a graveyard, lost power, and a strange face that appears in the window, and you have all of my favorite elements in a thriller.
The story alternates chapters between Amelia, Adam, and a mysterious woman named Robin. Interspersed between these chapters are anniversary letters, which his wife would never want Adam to read. They both have their secrets, which we learn about through the letters. No one is likable, which is not a deal breaker for me.
It’s clear something devious is afoot. Who will win this game and will all come out alive? This one kept Marialyce and I furiously flipping the pages, and playing amateur sleuth. Once again, the author fooled us with brilliant twists and turns. By the final reveal everything I thought I knew was in question, and I wanted to start over and read it again, knowing what I now know.
Were there a few inconsistencies and loose ends? Maybe, but I didn’t care, because I was engaged and thoroughly entertained throughout. I loved how the author laid out the story and how the secrets were revealed to the reader.
This would be a terrific winter read, and if you live in the northern climes, reading it in the midst of a snowstorm curled up by the fire would be perfect....more
The anxiety, uncertainty, and eerie isolation of the early days of Covid is the perfect backdrop for this twisty tale. Although this takes place durin
The anxiety, uncertainty, and eerie isolation of the early days of Covid is the perfect backdrop for this twisty tale. Although this takes place during quarantine, Covid does not take center stage, but simply provides the unique atmosphere and set of circumstances for a perfect mystery.
Ciara and Oliver met 56 days ago, and 35 days ago decided to move in together when everyone was ordered to shelter in place. Today one is found dead. But which one? And why?
The author plotted this brilliantly with the discovery of the dead body in the beginning, followed by the alternating points of view of Ciara and Oliver in the days leading up to the death. We also hear from the detectives working the case, Leah and Karl, and I especially loved the humor and good-natured banter between them.
The characters of Ciara and Oliver were well-developed, and the underlying motives/psychology of both were explored as they each withheld information from one another (and from the reader). It’s obvious from the beginning that there are secrets and hidden agendas, but the reader is just as clueless as the characters.
Cleverly plotted and compelling right up to the last page, with perfectly timed twists, the pages practically turned themselves. My reading buddy, Marialyce, and I enjoyed peeling back the layers, where even if you think you know where the story is headed, there are surprises in store. ...more
Stella and Violet, who met in college, are the best of friends despite coming from two very different backgrounds. They are necessary to one another fStella and Violet, who met in college, are the best of friends despite coming from two very different backgrounds. They are necessary to one another for very different reasons: Violet, who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, needs Stella for her wealth and connections, while Stella needs Violet for constant validation.
“There was the misery of having too little, but there was also the misery of living among those who believed there was no such thing as too much.”
But just how strong is their friendship? Is it true?
The friendship is tested when Stella returns from a post-college extended trip abroad, while Violet stayed behind, worked hard, and rose through the ranks at a cable news station. When Stella returns and sees how successful Violet is, guess who wants to steal the show away from her “friend”? With friends like these who needs enemies? As the story unfolds we see just how far the other will go to get what she wants.
“To be selfish. To be cruel, at times. To harden your heart so that you need no one else. When you realize how powerful this makes you, you keep it to yourself.”
I thought I had this one figured out pretty early on, but was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong. I loved the characterizations of both Stella and Violet and I loved the cut-throat newsroom setting. Very well-written, this was a thoughtful look at the haves and the have-nots, as well as ambition and drive and friendship and morals. The combination made for an explosive page-turner that I highly recommend for fans of character-driven thrillers. There is a lot of nuance and commentary that makes this deeper than it appears at first glance, while not letting up on the tension for one moment.
I'm only sorry I let this BOTM choice gather dust on my shelf for far too long....more
I had such fun with this one! This book scratched the itch that I’ve had since Desperate Housewives ended. I envisioned these ladies all living on WisI had such fun with this one! This book scratched the itch that I’ve had since Desperate Housewives ended. I envisioned these ladies all living on Wisteria Lane.
Was it over-the-top? Yes. And I loved it.
Sophie, her husband Graham, and their young son have recently moved from Chicago to a small Texas town, to enjoy a quieter lifestyle. Sophie’s husband is perfect (seriously!), and she has a lifestyle blog that features gardening and food/recipes. But she’s bored and becomes completely enamored with the “in-crowd” of wealthy women. Before long she finds herself invited to be a part of their clique.
Be careful what you wish for. Sophie finds herself in the clutches of the Queen Bee, the completely amoral Margot. The Hunting Wives aren’t just in it for fun and games, they are in it to the death. As in a murder. And guess who the police have their eye on?
I loved that the author highlighted some of Sophie’s backstory which explained why she was vulnerable to the wily ways of the Hunting Wives, even if I did want to reach through the pages, slap her silly, and tell her to put the wine glass down!
I also appreciated that the wild and reckless lives of The Wives wasn’t glorified. (Also, be prepared for some uncomfortable scenes!) As foolish as Sophie was, I still found myself rooting for her with hopes she could escape their clutches and pull her life back together.
One of my favorite parts of the novels was Sophie’s gardening skills, since I have none (a moment of silence please for all the flowers/plants who have lost their lives in my care), and her prowess in the kitchen. I do enjoy cooking and trying new recipes so identified with this part of Sophie and it made her real and relatable. As did her sweet husband and adorable son.
This was a juicy romp that was completely FUN! The ending wasn't predictable, making it all that more satisfying. I could see this as a movie playing in my mind and I hope it’s optioned for film....more
Hannah is happily married to Owen, and struggling with her relationship with his daughter, Bailey, who is barely civil to her. Hannah’s husband disapp
Hannah is happily married to Owen, and struggling with her relationship with his daughter, Bailey, who is barely civil to her. Hannah’s husband disappears and she finds only a note with two words: “Protect her”. She knows the note refers to her stepdaughter Bailey. But why? And protect her from what? When Hannah receives visits from the FBI and a U.S Marshal, and does some digging herself, she begins to understand that her husband Owen was not who she thought he was.
Told in two timelines – one with brief flashbacks to the past, which gives us context and a fuller picture of Hannah and Owen’s life together, and the second is in the present when Hannah and Bailey are forced to work together to find out the truth about Owen. Hannah is smart and intuitive in how she deals with Bailey and their relationship was one of my favorite things about the story.
Set in Sausalito and Austin, Texas, Hannah navigates the twists and turns using her intelligence combined with good instincts. She has to reconcile the husband she knows and loves with the new information she receives about him. As the novel progresses, Hannah must figure out what she needs to do to protect Bailey, and make a difficult choice on how to move forward. How she does so was completely unpredictable, yet perfect, which elevated this from a typical mystery/thriller. Many books in this genre disappoint me with the ending, but in this case, I loved it.
So much to love about this one. I loved the relationship between Hannah and Bailey. I loved that the author didn't make Bailey precocious or annoying (as so many teens in fiction). I loved that the ending, the choice she made was completely unpredictable. I loved the epilogue, and I usually hate them. I loved that Hannah was smart and intelligent with good instincts not only in her search for Owen, and making her final decision, but in dealing with a difficult teenager and navigating the stepmother/stepdaughter relationship.
My reading buddy, Marialyce, and I both chose this for our BOTM selection last month and we were not disappointed! I read and enjoyed a previous contemporary novel of the author’s but this is a new genre for the author. I hope there are more to come!
Recommended for those who love character-driven domestic mysteries that are still strong on plot. If you enjoy smartly written, strong, intelligent women protagonists, you will love Hannah....more
Forgiveness, resiliency, hope. What does it look like? How do you pick up the pieces after a tragedy? This is an introspective, character-driven storyForgiveness, resiliency, hope. What does it look like? How do you pick up the pieces after a tragedy? This is an introspective, character-driven story of 3 people reeling from unimaginable losses.
Two families are left devastated following the murder-suicide of their teens, Daniel and Jonah, who were best friends. Isaac and Lorrie, the parents who are next door neighbors, are now connected forever due to this tragedy. Each has a painful history which complicates the grieving process.
Evangeline, a 16 year old homeless pregnant girl, is found by Isaac in the woods behind his house and takes her in. With Isaac and Lorrie’s help, she begins her own healing. She has a secret that can shed light on Daniel and Jonah’s relationship and what happened between them.
How these three connect and begin to heal and live again is the main theme in this story. The story is told from several points of view, including Jonah’s, which sheds light on the past and what led to the tragedy.
Isaac’s Quaker faith plays a part in the story and I enjoyed learning about their traditions, a subject I knew little about. I wish we had been given Lorrie’s point of view but we get to know her through the lens of the other characters
Rufus, Isaac’s dog, is the other character in the book. He is the intuitive dog who senses your every emotion and creates strong bonds with their humans. I loved him.
I do wish the author would have toned down certain events with the animals in the book. I don’t like the phrase “trigger warnings”, but I will say there was a section that brought back painful memories, and I had to put it down and walk away several times. Yet, am I still glad I read this book? Yes.
This was a buddy read with my friend Marialyce, and it inspired a great discussion. It would make a terrific book club selection. We both highly recommend this powerful story.
This is an amazing debut. The author’s work as a lawyer and mediator no doubt influenced the book’s themes of resilience, forgiveness, and healing. I can’t wait to see what she does next!...more
4.5 stars Poppy and Alex are the best of friends. They are total opposites and want different things in life, but somehow it works. Alex is introvert4.5 stars Poppy and Alex are the best of friends. They are total opposites and want different things in life, but somehow it works. Alex is introverted, and lives a traditional life in OH. Poppy moved to NYC, and is a travel writer. She is extroverted, quirky, and loves the excitement of travel and the people she meets along the way. They agree to go on a vacation together once a year, even when involved in a relationship with other people. (I would have thought this was ludicrous, until the news broke of Bill Gates doing just that! Me? I’m not that understanding!)
Two years ago something happened that fractured Alex & Poppy’s friendship but Poppy convinces Alex to agree to one more trip. One chance to repair their friendship. The story toggles back and forth from the past to the present as we follow their relationship and travels.
The problem? Poppy is in love with Alex but is afraid of ruining their friendship by opening up to him and confessing her feelings. Plus they are polar opposites and want very different things in life so it would never work. Right? Why take a chance on being rejected? And how does Alex really feel about her?
The friends-to-lovers trope is a common one in the rom-com genre, but the author’s writing makes this especially delightful. I loved their witty banter, the vacation settings, and yes, the people they met on vacation. After being stuck at home during the pandemic it was fun to read and dream about exotic vacations.
It’s no surprise how this will end, but the journey there is a fun one. There weren’t any huge surprises (this is a rom-com after all), and the ending was a tad too drawn out, but I appreciated that it ended with some substance.
I didn’t care for the author’s book, Beach Read, (which could have been due to quarantine brain) but I loved this one. Don’t go into this book looking for realism, and accept some frustration at a couple that won’t talk to each other, but when you need a light-hearted read that will put a smile on your face, this is just the ticket.
* I rate books according to their genre. I can be hard to please with rom-coms, so the fact that I loved it bumped it up to 5 stars.
This was a buddy read with Marialyce, and one we had fun discussing!...more
Is this a 5 star thriller or is it TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? Unfortunately it’s the latter.
I was riveted from the beginning, and loved the voices of the Is this a 5 star thriller or is it TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? Unfortunately it’s the latter.
I was riveted from the beginning, and loved the voices of the 3 different narrators. The characters were very well-developed: - Skye, wealthy and privileged but left with crippling anxiety and OCD after her mother’s death, she has trouble meeting men who can tolerate her unusual tendencies. Until Burke. - Burke. He’s perfect. Mr. Right. Skye’s one and only. Or is he? His chapters are told as journal entries and are so compelling, I couldn’t wait to get back to them. - Heather. I won’t say who she is, but through her we get a lot of backstory.
It seems that all may not be as idyllic as it seems and a diabolical plot is in play. The short chapters and shifting perspectives make this a propulsive read.
THEN…poof….the propulsive mystery/thriller turned into a sappy ridiculous Lifetime movie romance, and not a very good one at that. I can’t say anything more without spoilers but luckily I had my reading buddy Marialyce to rant with over this one.
An author doesn’t owe me a story arc that I like but it has to make SOME kind of rational sense for me to enjoy it. If I had been reading a physical book I would have tossed it across the room.
The first 50-75% was a solid 4 or 5 stars…then POOF it was truly too good to be true, as I was suddenly reading an entirely different genre.
4 stars for the first half. One star for the second. 2 stars because I finished it.
I want to end on a positive note so I will say that although this was a BOTM club book I downloaded the audio on Hoopla to supplement my reading, and found I much preferred listening. The narrators were SUPERB! Especially Burke’s character. ...more
Jane Harper is one of my favorite authors, with The Dry and The Lost Man two of my favorite books in recent years. This book was one ofDNF @ page 100.
Jane Harper is one of my favorite authors, with The Dry and The Lost Man two of my favorite books in recent years. This book was one of my most anticipated books of the year.
I usually enjoy a slow burn, character-study but this was so slow it was glacial and the characters were flat and uninteresting (to me). I was having trouble keeping them straight (Kiernan, Ash, Bronte, Sean, Mia, Olivia, Liam, Verity, etc...oh my) and couldn't understand why till I read Teghan's review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
That was it! A Name Soup! In one short passage a name is mentioned fourteen times! My head was spinning trying to keep who was who straight..... When I put the book down I wasn't compelled to pick it back up and instead found things to do, anything to do, to avoid picking it up.
Few authors can write atmospheric, compelling, and literary mysteries as well as this author but this was a total miss. I'm still a fan and I'll be in line for her next book.
This isn't a slump, just some poor choices (for ME), and an unwillingness to continue with a book when I'm struggling to maintain interest. Many have loved it so do take this with a grain of salt and read the many 4 & 5 star reviews....more
4.5 stars Friendship is fraught with nuance. Some friendships are meant to last forever, and some for only a season.
Elisabeth, a new mother, leaves he4.5 stars Friendship is fraught with nuance. Some friendships are meant to last forever, and some for only a season.
Elisabeth, a new mother, leaves her beloved NYC for a small town. She’s estranged from her wealthy family, and is lonely, adrift, and struggling to fit in. Sam is a college student hired by Elisabeth as her nanny. She comes from a very close-knit middle-class family, and is adrift in the rarefied world of wealth at an elite private university.
Elisabeth and Sam strike up a friendship, one where Sam envies Elisabeth who seems to have it all together, while Elisabeth sees Sam as someone with a future that’s an unwritten script she can help write.
Both, in different ways, think they know what is best for others. One is an idealist with a desire to enact change, and the other simply doesn’t mind meddling in others’ lives. You know what they say about the road to hell and good intentions…. As well as what they say about assumptions...
The dual perspectives of two women from very different times in their lives is very revealing. Can we ever truly know anyone? Can we ever truly escape our past? Isn’t everyone who is a friend also, in many ways, a stranger? As a reader, we are privy to their inner thoughts and secrets and by the end, I think there’s something relatable for most of us.
Lest you think this is all seriousness with a capital S, if you are a fan of dysfunctional families, you are in for a treat with a Christmas dinner that makes the worst of our dysfunctional family get-togethers look like a Norman Rockwell scene. Maybe I have a twisted sense of humor but I found it hilarious.
For likable characters, Elisabeth’s father-in-law was by far my favorite. He is kind and lovable and has a theory of the Hollow Tree – a societal system where everything looks good from the outside until you look deeper and discover the hollow underbelly and the people left behind without a safety net. A concept that has never been more evident than during the pandemic of 2020/21. “Once you see the hollow tree, you see it everywhere”. Amen.
There are many relevant and thought-provoking themes that beg for discussion, which is exactly what my friend Marialyce and I did. This is on the short list of one of our most discussed books ever.
If you are looking for a lighter, character-driven read with substance, I highly recommend! But be aware you won’t always like the characters or agree with their actions.
If you read this book be sure to watch the interview with Jenna Bush Hager and the author on Instagram @readwithjenna. It’s interesting and enlightening as well as completely entertaining.
”Homo sapiens is the only animal who believed he had transcended his Kingdom.”
Gifty’s parents immigrated to Alabama from Ghana before she wa4.5 stars
”Homo sapiens is the only animal who believed he had transcended his Kingdom.”
Gifty’s parents immigrated to Alabama from Ghana before she was born, and Gifty, now in her late 20s, is a PhD candidate in neuroscience at Stanford University studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction.
Personal experience drives her quest. Nana, her brilliant brother, a rising basketball star, became addicted to opioids after a sports injury. The addiction costs him his life (the townspeople aren’t surprised – it’s to be expected from “their kind”). Her mother falls into a debilitating depression that will haunt her for decades.
The racism Gifty and her family grew up with in the South has given her even more motivation to succeed: to prove the townspeople wrong. The story alternates between the present and to her childhood. She grew up in poverty with an absentee father and a harsh, hard-working mother who struggled to show love.
“If I've thought of my mother as callous, and many times I have, then it is important to remember what a callus is: the hardened tissue that forms over a wound.”
Gifty adored her brother and watched helplessly as his bright star was dimmed by addiction. Still very young when he died, she prayed fervently and poured her heart out to God in her journal. With no one to guide her, she loses hope and her faith dims. She decides to pour her energies into science.
“…it‘s easier to write all addicts off as bad and weak-willed people, than it is to look closely at the nature of their suffering… there is no case study in the world that could capture the whole animal of my brother, that could show how smart and kind and generous he was, how much he wanted to get better, how much he wanted to live.
“The truth is we don’t know what we don’t know. We don’t even know the questions we need to ask in order to find out, but when we learn one tiny little thing, a dim light comes on in a dark hallway, and suddenly a new question appears. We spend decades, centuries, millennia, trying to answer that one question so that another dim light will come on. That’s science, but that’s also everything else, isn’t it? Try. Experiment. Ask a ton of questions.”
This is a beautiful look into the immigrant experience, the weight of expectations, racism, poverty, depression, and addiction. But at its heart it’s an exploration of grief and the search for meaning. The brain wants the hard facts of science but the seeds of faith in Gifty’s heart wants an answer, even as she struggles against the fundamentalism faith of her childhood. Perhaps it’s not science vs faith but both?
Neither the science or the religion is heavy-handed or preachy. This is a brilliantly written book with a tone that perfectly captures Gifty’s emotions and the trauma she has survived. The prose is luminous and I gave my book darts a heavy workout. I was moved by Gifty’s story and was rooting for her from beginning to end.
Highly recommended!
*this was a buddy read with my friend Marialyce, which generated thoughtful discussions. It would make a great book club pick. ** for our duo review please visit https://yayareadslotsofbooks.wordpres......more
”The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧The body”
Guests gather on a remote island off the coast of 3.5 stars
”The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧The body”
Guests gather on a remote island off the coast of Ireland for a celebrity wedding. Sounds idyllic, right? Except this dream wedding turns into a nightmare long before the dead body is found.
But who is the victim? And who is the killer? This story is all about the journey to the end, when all is revealed. Told from various points of view and alternating timelines, the secrets, grudges, and mysterious pasts of the guests are slowly revealed. Red herrings abound, and nearly everyone has a motive for murder. It’s a rather unlikable cast of characters and the reader is required to accept improbable coincidences. It’s been compared to an Agatha Christie ‘locked-room’ mystery but no one can compare to Christie and not fall short.
The gothic, foreboding atmosphere is straight from the golden age of mysteries, which I love. The structure of the plot was a clever idea that didn’t quite pan out. Each short chapter ends with a teaser which grew tiresome, and the middle was a tad slow. This is in the ‘liked it, didn’t love it’ category, which is not a bad thing. I buddy read this with Marialyce, and it’s one we both enjoyed as a pleasant diversion....more
What makes a good marriage? How many marriages do we think are solid only to watch them fall apart? How many do we think are troubled, only to see theWhat makes a good marriage? How many marriages do we think are solid only to watch them fall apart? How many do we think are troubled, only to see them weather the storm and survive?
We all bring our sometimes complicated past experiences into our relationships. Couples compromise and make adjustments to make a long-term marriage work. The intimate details of a relationship aren’t usually the subject of casual conversation. That is, unless you live in the Park Slopes neighborhood of NYC. Then, no topic is seemingly off-limits. But there are secrets. Many secrets. Until a murder threatens to expose them all.
I loved the premise on complicated marriages, even though my own marriage is solid. However, I was not a fan of the way it was carried out. Most of the couples were despicable and immature. There was only one couple, along with the murdered woman, who was somewhat sympathetic. I’ve never taken so long to read a book in this genre. When I set it down I had to force myself to pick it back up. The middle was a slog and the ending was a convoluted mess with dangling plot threads.
Less is more. For me, this had too much going on, to the point where I had trouble keeping the characters straight. This was a buddy read with my friend Marialyce and both of us were left scratching our heads. I felt it had an identity crisis and a tighter focus would have made for a better story.
This was not for me, but there are plenty of 4 and 5 star reviews so be sure to check them out. I'll be taking a break from the genre....more
The book hooked me from the first pages. Claire and Eva, both on the run for very different reasons, meet by chance in an airport lounge and decide toThe book hooked me from the first pages. Claire and Eva, both on the run for very different reasons, meet by chance in an airport lounge and decide to switch boarding passes in order to give each a head start in eluding those who will surely come after them. The flight Claire was supposed to take, the one Eva is on, crashes and Claire realizes this is an opportunity to disappear and start a new life. She assumes Eva’s identity, but soon discovers that the story Eva told her was completely false.
On the positive side, the short chapters move the story along at a fast clip, and the ending was a complete surprise (in a good way). However, there were too many unlikely coincidences that moved the story forward, and you will have to suspend some disbelief, which is not exactly a negative, as it's expected in this genre.
Through alternating chapters we learn their backstories. The following information is given very early in the book so this is not a spoiler. Claire was living a life of wealth and privilege with a husband who had political aspirations, but her life away from the public eye was less than idyllic with an abusive husband. Eva appeared to be living a quiet life as a waitress, but she has a secret life of crime, selling drugs to college kids, and it has landed her in legal trouble.
I don’t have a problem with an author creating an amoral character but Eva’s character was written in such a way that we were supposed to feel empathy for her. I did not. She plays the victim card, nothing is her fault, she feels no remorse, and she lacks awareness of the irreparable harm she causes.
I realize this is fiction but with the huge drug problem we have in this country, I didn’t care for the cavalier attitude the author treats it. I know families who have been devastated and lost children to drug use. It doesn’t belong in a fictional book for entertainment purposes unless the crime is taken seriously.
This was a miss for me on several fronts, and as a buddy read with Marialyce, both of us were left sorely disappointed. If the drug theme doesn’t offend you, this would be an easy read to toss in the beach bag. If I had known the theme prior to picking this up, I would have skipped it.
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