Review: Make It Up To Me by Mark Gillespie

     

Print Length: 260 pages

Publisher:  Mark Gillespie (March 15, 2022)

From Goodreads.com: Lisa Granger did the unthinkable. She committed a shocking act of betrayal that no one would dare believe.

One year later, there’s a price to pay. And the cost is everything.

Disaster strikes one morning when a speeding car plunges into the River Clyde. There are two people trapped inside the car and they’re drowning. As the only eyewitness to the crash, Lisa doesn’t hesitate to dive in.

What she finds below the surface will change her life forever.

One year later, a mysterious letter turns up on Lisa’s doorstep. A letter written by a dead man. The dead man knows what she did that day under the water.

And he’s got a score to settle.

Make It Up To Me is a chilling psychological suspense thriller about loss, regret and redemption. Guaranteed to keep you guessing and turning the pages. If you love fast-paced thrillers packed full of mystery and suspense, you’ll love Make It Up To Me.

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My Rating: 2 stars out of 5

This story was.... interesting. 

It started off strong, but then as it progressed, I found myself losing interest, and frankly becoming bored in parts. 

This could be in part due to the fact that there were a lot of unnecessary details about things that didn't add to the overall plot, such as the interior of a house, or a certain area. There was also a secondary plotline involving Quinn that unless the author plans to make this into a series, took away from the main plot while not adding anything to the overall story.  

I felt that the characters could have been better fleshed out as well. At times they seemed like cardboard cut-outs, fading into the background. Lisa is described as "skeletal" throughout the entire book, and for the portion that is told from her POV, all we really see her do is drink copious amounts of wine, feel guilty over what she had done, and then succumb to the (somewhat understandable) bouts of paranoia. Quinn at first comes across as feisty and resourceful, but then seems to lose that as the story progresses and the POV switches to her. 

Still, I was prepared to give this one a three-star rating. And then I got to the ending. The WHO did it and WHY they did it was very well done. I admit that I hadn't expected the twists that came at that point. But the fact that no one had to answer for what they did? That just left things feeling very unfinished for me, especially when you consider the fact that there are now three people who know the truth and could decide to reveal it at any time consequences notwithstanding. We also don't get to see how Lisa is doing at the end, we are just told by way of Quinn what she has done since the final showdown. 

Of course, the things that didn't work for me, will likely be easily overlooked by others, so if this sounds like your cup of tea, please give it a chance! 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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                                            Make It Up To Me is available on Amazon.com