The Book That Spoils Itself
I am at a loss for words.
I am SO CONFUSED, having finished this book and taken some time to process, that I don't know how to review it.
I think I'll start with what you absolutely need to take away from this review. If you stop reading right now, I want you to know one CRUCIAL detail about the book.
If you read the synopsis of the story (on the dust jacket or on Amazon), you have the most important details. There's no thrill to this story. None. None AT ALL. That's because from the very first sentence, you know who committed the murder and who they killed.
Dust jacket reviews purport that the mystery is in WHY the killer murdered the victim, but the reader discovers this information so early in the story, and it's so easily deduced before that point, that there is no real thrill, no suspense, no wondering.
I want you to know this FIRST, because if you're looking for an exciting thriller, you can skip this one right now. This book literally spoils the suspense for itself.
The other thing you HAVE to know before investing in this book is that the ending is, well, ODD. I'd hate to spoil it for you, so I won't say more than that up here. Feel free to jump to the end to read about why the ending bothered me so much.
I've taken to looking for book recommendations on Pinterest of all places. I'm one of those people who judge a book by its cover, and Pinterest is a wealth of cover art, often linked to further information on the book it covers.
I bought this book (the day it was released, no less!) for the sake of its cover, and because it promised to be a psychological thriller.
The cover is brilliant, isn't it? I imagined a story of the body of a murdered victim being uncovered slowly but surely, or the dirt over her grave being washed away to reveal the horror of her death. Because we know immediately who the killer and the victim are, I expected SOME kind of suspense surrounding the discovery of the murder.
Only there wasn't any suspense. The book simply DID NOT DELIVER on its promise.
I could have gotten behind this book if I wanted the killer to be discovered. I could have gotten behind it if I battled suspense because I hoped the killer would NOT be discovered.
I felt neither as this book went on.
It's hard to explain WHY I couldn't invest in justice for Annie Doyle. I cared about her, and it was hard NOT to care about the family torn apart by her disappearance. I cared about the family of the killer (though admittedly not the killers themselves). I just couldn't bring myself to care whether the murder was solved, and that alone was problematic.
One potential reason for this problem is the book was told in alternating perspectives among three different narrators: Lydia Fitzsimons, Laurence Fitzsimons, and Annie Doyle's sister Karen. It's hard to "choose a side" when you can see the playing field from all angles. While the actions of one of these characters are entirely deplorable, discovery affects another so deeply it's hard to decide whether to root for the bad guy or for the victim's family.
You, of course, may find the experience different from mine. It's altogether possible you'll find one of these characters particularly appealing.
It wouldn't surprise me, in fact. The character development in this story is superb, and the characters (primary, secondary, tertiary, and even ancillary) unfold slowly and beautifully, like a flower blossoming. Each is fully realized, believable, and terrifyingly like someone you probably already know.
This is a DEEPLY psychological book.
And, well, I like that. Actually, I like that a LOT.
This book WILL creep up on you. Slowly. (Too slowly for some people. ALMOST too slowly for me, to be honest with you.)
I liked it, but I didn't love it. It moves too slowly, and at least one of the three main characters appears to change suddenly. On reflection, I feel this is not a change so much as it's a revelation of the person they were from the beginning. (I'm using gender-neutral pronouns to avoid spoiling WHICH character in the beginning.)
The ending shocked me. If you want to talk about an awesome twist ending, I did not see that coming. Not even for an instant. It blew me away.
Unfortunately, it also felt rushed, sudden, and startling. This is a book which builds like a crescendo, and ends with a deafening crash. For some, this will be a "crash and burn" scenario. For others, it will be a shocking, thrilling end to an otherwise mediocre book.
For me, I found it exciting when I read it, but with a bit of distance, I'm left disappointed. Nugent could have done better.
Mostly this one just DISAPPOINTED me, and I cannot recommend the hardcover at this price point.
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