I was on a lengthy waiting list with Libby for this one; it was on hold since July of this year. So once I saw that I was finally next in line, with only fourteen days to finish it, I was excited to make my way through the mystery thriller.
The atmosphere was well-built, the characters were interesting, and the pace was perfect for the relatively short time I had with the loan.
I saw a bit of the ending coming, especially once Mayhew mentioned the blue eyes, but I'll admit, as it kept going in the last maybe thirty or so pages, the twists were getting a bit silly and excessive.
The book was an almost solid 5/5, but became more of a 3.5/5 by the end. It almost felt like Sager was trying too hard to tie up every loose end, or somehow make every character related/connected to each other in some shape or form. Don't even get me started on the bizarre reveal of Virginia having been fully autonomous the entire time. It also took me a minute to fully accept why Mary would go to Kit's father, or why he really felt the need to kill her and then . . . I suppose twiddle his thumbs for a while before deciding to try to kill Virginia? Surely, Mary's visit had tipped him off about her before Kit mentioned it? Also, why kill himself like that?
All in all, it was still a very fun read, don't get me wrong! It just went off the rails a tad at the end there.
Quick thoughts on the main character: I did find it a little dramatic, the way she felt and acted towards Miss Hope when she initially started work there. Recoiling at her touch? Freaking out about being close? Maybe I've spent too much time around criminals in my work, but I found that a little bit silly. The lady is old, an invalid, and no real threat. Chill, gurl.
What were your thoughts on the characters? How did the story feel to you? Anything you wished had happened?
by HomeToThePalace
2 Comments
>!My favorite part is towards the end Virginia let what’s her face save her from the house that was falling off a mother fucking cliff. Like wouldn’t that be a good time to come clean about being bedbound?!<
I read it last week and had all the same thoughts as you. Riley writes page turners with outlandish endings.
Questions:
1. are you in my book club? We are reading this book this month
2. I totally agree that a lot of things were overkill. I definitely saw that <! the cliff was going to destroy the house by the end of the book and that Virginia was being quite the actress. !> I knew there were going to be a lot of <! people related, but I do think it was a little overextended and became a little pedantic with the amount of connections rather than exhilarating !>