Requires some patience, though it is ultimately worth the expenditure ... There is an electric undercurrent that informs the novel practically from the first page, and its hum carries the reader right along as Lelic slowly and exquisitely ratchets up the suspense ... Lelic pulls off a couple of neat literary tricks here ... If you like your stories tangled and complicated but eminently readable, this is one you will want to pick up.
A spine-tingling thriller ... a doozy. Lelic does quite a lot with this book while keeping much of what makes a good thriller truly good at the forefront. The pacing is fantastic ... Getting a 14-year old’s voice right is hard for any adult, but with Emily, Lelic nails it ... Lelic expertly tackles the heartache, and joy, that comes with parenthood as well as the aftermath of tragedy and our helplessness in the face of it. This one has the heart of a thriller but a lot of emotional heft, and the claustrophobic feel one gets from imagining Susanna and Adam trapped in that room together only adds to the considerable suspense. Although dark, this tense and layered story isn’t without hope. I’m such a fan of this author and can’t wait to see what he has in store next.
Though the increasingly dangerous sparring between the pair does, inevitably, take on a somewhat stagy quality, the painful secrets exposed and the tragic linked past that emerges contain enough emotional truth to carry the day.
