This book took me way too long to finish. And honestly, the only reason I managed to get through it was because it was an advanced reader copy that I specifically requested because I normally love this author, and the premise sounded so good. Unfortunately, this book just missed the mark for me in almost every possible way.
To begin with, the plot was all over the place. And I'm not just talking about the parts that took place in the past, detailing what Julia and her friend Wendy went through after they were taken. The present-day storyline made just as little sense to me.
For starters, after the first time I was drugged, that person would have been out of my life immediately. I don't care how much I supposedly needed their help. You're not getting the chance to do it again. Then there was the whole situation with the cell phone. Julia ia supposedly in a situation where she's deathly concerned about her safety, yet she goes upstairs to sleep while not only leaving her cell phone downstairs, but also without knowing whether or not it needed to be charged. I'm sorry, but if things are THAT dire, wouldn't you keep your phone on you at all times? And maybe have something nearby to defend yourself with? It doesn't have to be some elaborate weapon. There's an entire butcher's block sitting in the kitchen. Grab a knife and take it upstairs. And then there's Julia's daughter, Olivia. I could not for the life of me understand why Julia would willingly walk into the situation at the lake house with her young daughter in tow. If you genuinely believe that someone from your past is coming after you, why would you go into that situation without a plan? And more importantly, why would you bring the one person you claim to love more than anything along for the ride? I'm sorry, but I need my characters to have at least a tiny bit of common sense.
Sadly, the more this book went on, the more disappointed I became. A lot of the plot was just downright unbelievable. We're expected to believe that certain things happened over the years without anyone noticing. And even if someone did notice something, apparently nobody else thought it might be worth looking into a little more closely? Then we have the entire revenge scheme. Except even the people carrying out said revenge scheme admit that they don't really have a plan for how they're going to accomplish what they want to accomplish. Well, that's reassuring. Nothing says “I've carefully plotted my revenge” quite like "Wait, what do you mean getting my hands on the money that was promised to me isn't going to be that easy?"
And can we please talk about the constant 'I know something, but I'm not going to tell you yet' narrative? Because good lord, that got old quickly. Either give us the information and let us figure out what it means, or shut the heck up about it until you're ready to reveal it. But repeatedly reminding me that a character knows something while deliberately withholding it just felt like a cheap way to manufacture suspense.
Then we get to the ending. Or should I say the lack thereof? Sure, we find out who did it. But we don't really find out the why. That's kind of an important detail when you've spent an entire book building toward a mystery. Instead, we're given lines like: “I suppose the answer will reveal itself one day", or “I suppose we'll never know what set that particular finale in motion”, or my personal favorite: “It’s always nice when the enemy gives you advance warning that he sees you. May the best liar win.”
Seriously? You're going to end the book on a cliffhanger like that after putting your readers through all of the aforementioned malarkey? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for leaving a few questions unanswered when it works for the story. But this felt less like a satisfying cliffhanger and more like the author simply stopped writing.
Overall, this just did not read like the same author I've enjoyed in the past. The premise was good enough to make me request the ARC, and there were certainly pieces here that could have made for a really compelling story. Unfortunately, the execution never lived up to that potential for me. However, I'm not writing the author off just yet because I have enjoyed their work before. I'm just hoping that the next book I pick up is much more in line with what I've come to expect from them.
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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