This novel sounded like your usual thriller about two sisters falling apart because of some tragedy and then something brings them back and they solve everything. So my expectations for this novel were not too high. I mean, there have been so many thrillers that have a similar story line that I really wasn’t expecting anything more. Well, let me just say that this novel delivered a WHOLE lot more than it promised and it was AMAZING!
It has been twenty years since Lydia and Claire have seen or spoken to each other. Claire is a glamorous trophy wife of a millionaire. Lydia is a single mother dating an ex-con (like herself) and struggles to make ends meet. But both sisters are scarred by the disappearance of their eldest sister, Julia, two decades ago. When Claire’s husband is murdered in an alley, she is distraught and lost to the world. But it is during this time that she finds something that changes her perception of the world her husband lived in – and the only person she can share this with is Lydia. Once again, the sisters are reunited albeit under strained circumstances. As they work together to unearth secrets that have been buried, they find a plot so twisted that their own lives may be in jeopardy.
Most of the time, thrillers focus on the discovery of the crime and the criminal and culminates in a rushed conclusion where the killer is apprehended. That is not the case in this novel. In this story, there is no neat ending; the novel continues on with what happens after the discovery of the killer is made. I absolutely loved this novel because it really is original; the author has taken the usual boundaries and pushed past them while still maintaining that epic thrill and the pleasure of redemption. I could not stop reading this book, even though I was in the middle of an important presentation. I just had to know what was going to happen next. This novel focuses on the tragedy of kidnapping and murder, of sexual violence, of the aftermath that a family faces in light of this pain. It explores the different ways people cope with these situations but it also shows the deeper evils that can be found in people we consider our “friends”; it even shows psychopaths as beings capable of empathy and love and pain (something that can be hard to believe). All in all, this was a great novel; to be honest, this is second only to Gillian Flynn’s work – and those who have read my previous posts on thrillers know that this is A BIG COMPLIMENT coming from me! So if you are looking for a thriller, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give this novel a shot! It will definitely be worth your while!
Happy reading ~