Twenty years after a member of a clique of Pennsylvania high schoolers dies violently, death threatens to reduce the surviving members of the favored circle to zero.
...[a] heart-thumping, Harlan Coben-esque domestic thriller that packs a serious punch ... It’s hard nowadays, in the post-Gone Girl era, to truly catch readers off-guard. From unreliable narrators to unforeseen twists out of left field that offer more shock than substance, today’s reader has pretty much seen it all, which is why Scottoline’s latest offering is so special—she lands that coveted haymaker, one that’ll leave her fans reeling and have people talking about her book for a long, long time ... a relentless, gut-punch of a thriller that’s sure to stand among the year’s best.
[Scottoline] brings her troubled teens and the equally screwed-up adults they become to melodramatically vivid life, slowly ratcheting up the tempo right up to the last muffled twist. The author’s acknowledgments call her latest stand-alone a 'deep domestic,' a description it would be hard to improve on—as long as you understand that what’s deep are the emotions, not the ideas.
Only an awkward closing twist undercuts a heartfelt tale that touches on family, marriage, justice, and how emotional wounds drive the choices people make. Scottoline’s fans will be well satisfied.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
