I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This novel was recommended for fans of The Missing Girls and In A Dark, Dark Wood, so I thought this might be the right fit for me. Here is my review:
Angela is brought into the police station and held in an interrogation room. Her ex’s wife has gone missing and Detective Novak suspects Angela of knowing something relevant, even though Angela insists that she isn’t involved. Angela decides to tell the detective the entire story from the very beginning, going back 10 years to when Angela first fell in love with her highschool friend, H.P. But as the story continues, it is clear that something is being concealed. Is Angela the perpetrator of a crime or is she merely caught in a web of lies?
There are a lot of positive reviews on GoodReads; almost everyone has given this book a 4 or 5 star rating. After reading this novel, I’m confused: did I read a completely different book from everyone else? After seeing the positive reviews, I even read this book again and I still didn’t get it. Anyways, here are my thoughts on this book:
Angela’s character and personality really did not work for me. I understand that not all characters are likeable; I’ve read many Gillian Flynn novels and hated the characters but loved the books so I don’t really consider likeability to be an issue. The problem was that I really didn’t understand or connect with Angela. The novel was told completely from her perspective but I had a hard time making sense of her voice and personality; for some reason, it just didn’t seem believable and I couldn’t accept it. Angela is a very entitled character and it bugged me so much. Just like the Detective, I had no patience or sympathy for her because she literally has everything but still is dissatisfied. I’m sure that was the author’s intent but it just made me hate Angela so much.
The story itself was quite interesting and I quickly became engrossed in watching how the relationships unfolded. However, I found there were loads of things that made me roll my eyes. I’m not going to say any of them because I don’t want to ruin the story but there were things that were so far-fetched; they made no sense but were there for the sole purpose of making the facts all work out.
The ending was supposed to be a twist. There was no twist. I’m pretty sure that I had predicted things before the halfway point of the novel. When I am being told that I am reading a psychological thriller, I expect it to really change my perspective and be completely unexpected. That didn’t happen here so I was quite disappointed.
Overall, this thriller did not work for me. The main character was not likeable or easy to connect with, the plot had elements to it that didn’t really make sense, and the ending was a disappointment. Obviously, many people thought otherwise so maybe I’m just that one person for whom this novel didn’t work so if you like thrillers, consider giving it a shot!
Happy reading ~