Review- Oh most definitely cried. I think this was the perfect end cap for this series. The disappearance of a young girl ends up closing a lot of chapters for the various characters. We not only work through this case but work through lingering trauma and past questions. I will say the writing felt a bit long winded in this book. I’m assuming because the narrator is Eliza, and she is in her head a lot. So it makes sense that we break down everything the way we do. Plus I’m keeping in mind this was the last book in the series so it does have some threads to clip or tie off.
Collector Series- I love how the author just slides into the time jumps. It’s not blatantly stamped, you see it through the characters. Throughout the series it really does feel like all these characters have full lives and we are just dropping in on particular cases. I really enjoy that about this series.
Words I learned:
Recidivism- noun. the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend
Minatory – I. adjective ‹formal› expressing or conveying a threat
"Spoilers, Spoilers" – River Song
*The following is an open discussion about the book. Details will be discussed here and in the comments. If that's not for you, this is where we part.
Hey, if you are reading this I don't want to hear "but spoilers", you had ample warning. lol
Okay, lets get into it.
Eliza: The author did a great job of portraying her overthinking. We see it with her narration style and in instances like the “oh yes I’m heading out after I label these”, seamlessly cutting to Ramirez scolding her for staying all night at the office. Or towards the end when she declines giving the press conference.
I also like how her fiancé arc was written. We get glimpses that something more was happening in the last book. We see how she talks about her mom and fiancé, also we see how the other characters are responding to this. I was rooting for her, after Bran bumped into that pan and she said “Bran, I mean it. If I ever think it’s on purpose, I’ll have my gun in hand before you finish the follow-through. I will not let myself be *abused again.*” pg. 164 and then she had a conversation, a little while later, with her dad. She really needed that. Him opening her eyes to her mom’s behavior and how that made it even harder for her to see her fiancés behavior.
Bran: We’ve seen since the first book how his sister’s disappearance has effected him, more so in the second book than the first and then it reiterated in a different fashion in the third. Still this book opens it to a new light. Over the course of the series it is a running ‘joke’ about how meticulous he keeps his space.
Then we get an excerpt from Brandon, going over a memory of the days after Faith went missing. He goes on to talk about how his room was a mess and he usually cleaned it, because once his parents wouldn’t let him out of his room until it was cleaned and that absolutely wrecked faith. As he is retelling this memory he realizes that he spent the entire night cleaning his room spotless. His mom enters and say
“Ay, mijo,” his mamá whispered. “It’s not like before. No one’s keeping her away because your room isn’t clean.” “Yo sé.” Pg.157
Absolutely broke me.
Then him breaking down at the dig site… I usually don’t bawl while reading. I can name 3 times (outside of hormones), that a book got me. This is the fourth.
The author did an amazing job painting that scene. I could literally hear the choked sob, see Eliza drop to her knees with him, see him falling apart against her and Ian and Sachine swooping in to fall apart as well. Whew. It was a tough scene.
I love the ending as well. Through the ofrenda we wrap up some threads she has threaded throughout the series. We also get to see the group married and expecting. Still a close knit unit.
Overall, even with the long windedness of this book, it’s my favorite in the series.
by MotherofBook