This novel was given to me as an advanced copy by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I love standalone thrillers. I like them because they (usually) give me just the right amount of thrill without making me go back and read EVERYTHING that came before that one particular novel. I like reading books that are part of a series, don’t get me wrong there, but I don’t always have the time to become invested in one so it is often much better for me to read a standalone. That was one of the main reasons why I was so interested in reading this novel. So here is my review:
23 years ago, Francis Scroll’s life was torn apart when his 9-year-old younger brother, Lucas, was found dead in the bathtub during a dinner party. The only witness is Lucas’s friend Sam – but he refuses to divulge the truth. What ensues is a nasty court battle that makes everyone feel victimized and takes everyone farther and farther away from justice. Now, Francis is a father himself and is trying to move on from the past. However, the past doesn’t seem done with Francis, as he finds out that Sam’s own 9-year-old son has been kidnapped – and Francis’s father is the main suspect. Will Francis be able to save this young boy, or will he succumb to the same fate as his brother did? To find out what is really going on, Francis will have to go back into his past and discover the truth behind his brother’s death.
While this novel had a very interesting premise, I did not like it as much as I had hoped. Francis’s character is all over the place throughout the whole novel. He doesn’t seem to be able to move in a manner that makes any real sense. Throughout the story, I felt as if random things were being introduced and connections were being made in the weirdest way. The story plot could definitely have been written better. The identity of the kidnapper didn’t seem to make any sense to me whatsoever; it didn’t seem to flow with the rest of the novel and it just didn’t give me a satisfactory feeling. The truth behind Lucas’s death, however, was far more interesting and believable; that was one part of the story I enjoyed. However, it took way too long to reach that point and the various different characters that were thrown at the reader to distract us from the truth were quite unnecessary. All in all, I was not a fan of this novel and would not recommend this to those looking for a realistic thriller.