Thriller | 384 pages | 08.18.2020 | William Morrow Paperbacks
1 STAR
Ugh, I can’t even begin to say how many things were wrong with this book. First of all, it was a sad attempt int replicating the format that worked for Big Little Lies. The several POVs really added nothing to the story. Secondly, the drama within those families/groups and their inner issues were so over the top and at times just plainly infuriating (and not in a good way), I almost put the book down several times. There is no way that a group of three women harbors this amount of secrets. There is no way all these bad things happen to one tight-knit community. Thirdly, some of the topics discussed (i.e. rape) were not done delicately or in a nuanced way. Without giving away spoilers, certain matters are simply legal issues (and for good reason) and there is no need to make this a moral issue and a conflict between people. The law decides for them. Lastly, there were several moments where I began to question if the author is a US author or from somewhere else. Turns out she is from the US and so should definitely know that for example when a 12-year-old student goes missing, the school will activate a protocol that most definitely involves the police right away and not just casually calling the parents, which in turn then slowly saunter down to the station to report their child missing. Pfffff, no way. Parents could sue the school if they didn’t respond appropriately. Anyway, these are just some of the problems I had with this book. I would most definitely not recommend it. This is not to say that I did not enjoy Pamela Crane’s writing style. She definitely has talent. I just think this book was sloppily done and lacked any kind of deeper creativity.
I would like to thank the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
ICH LESE 