I had a long day in the lab, and I’ve been meaning to really get through my reading list so I decided to start with this one. Other people who read it considered it a quick but good read, and I thought it would be perfect for me, especially since I’ve been on a thriller binge right now!
Synopsis (Goodreads): Kat Grant and Alice Campbell have a friendship forged in shared confidences and long lunches lubricated by expensive wine. Though they’re very different women—the artsy socialite and the struggling suburbanite—they’re each other’s rocks. But even rocks crumble under pressure. Like when Kat’s financier husband, Howard, plunges to his death from the second-floor balcony of their South Florida mansion.
Howard was a jerk, a drunk, a bully and, police say, a murder victim. The questions begin piling up. Like why Kat has suddenly gone dark: no calls, no texts and no chance her wealthy family will let Alice see her. Why investigators are looking so hard in Alice’s direction. Who stands to get hurt next. And who is the cool liar—the masterful manipulator behind it all.
Review: While I didn’t find this story to have anything surprising to it, I must say I quite enjoyed this novel. Margot Hunt is the pseudonym for a bestselling author who has published 12 books before this one. And it shows because the quality of the writing is very strong. I couldn’t stop myself from flipping one page after the next because the writing style allowed for this novel to maintain a fairly fast pace (even though there wasn’t actually a lot happening) and be an easy read.
What made this novel really work is the characterization of the 2 female characters, which was great. The story is from Alice’s perspective and she is a great protagonist. Alice is a logician, and her logical mind is evident in her various interactions with other people. She is described quite a few times as being cold or too calm, and this has been attributed to her logical thinking … but reading from her point of view showed that this isn’t necessarily true. Alice feels a lot. She feels protective towards her family and friends, driven by her love for them to do whatever it takes to make them happy. She was a character I could really connect with, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective as she went from loyal defender of Kat to doubting their friendship.
Kat’s character was also very interesting. I could tell right away why she wasn’t to be trusted…. but also why she was so easy to be best friends with. Heck, even I wanted to be friends with her! I enjoyed reading about the relationship between Kat and Alice and how it may have seemed like a tight bond at first, but was just a manipulation by Kat.
The conclusion of the story, while predictable, was still quite good because the author really stuck to the theme that she had introduced from the start. This is a story about what it means to be a friend, and how friendship can be manipulated. I’m giving this a solid 3/5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers!
I received this novel as an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Happy reading ~
