... the ultimate goes-down-easy beach read ... There’s more than one little secret in Holahan’s capably crafted domestic thriller, which creates genuine suspense when it comes to the book’s central mystery ... The writing tends toward the pedestrian, but Holahan has a clear eye for the way marriage works (or, in the case of these characters, doesn’t).
Multiple plot twists keep the pages turning as Gabby investigates, slowly unraveling the many relationships among the six as things in the house go from bad to worse, and marriages begin to crumble. Gabby is a conscientious detective who must deal with jealous colleagues and her anger as her family becomes part of her investigation. With well-drawn characters, this absorbing page-turner, told from multiple points of view, alternates effectively between recent past and present.
This unconventional psychological thriller alternates between views of the day of the murder and the day after to reveal secrets that could destroy marriages and lives ... Holahan’s latest stand-alone is a great beach read for those with a penchant for scandalous secrets and gossipy, suspenseful mysteries.
... solidly plotted ... The action remains strong as it touches on infidelity, betrayal, abuse, bad business dealings, and underhanded lawsuits. But most of the characters are unfocused until halfway through the story. Only Gabby is consistently well developed as she deals with racism and sexism in the department and in town. Still, Holahan does a fine job portraying fraying marriages and artificial friendships.
A domestic thriller that’s actually filled with lots of secrets, some of them pretty big ... Holahan deploys a before-after-during-after-before-and-so-on series of perspectives that go a long way toward dissipating the suspense they’re presumably meant to intensify. But her gimlet eye for the foibles of this particular social set is as unforgiving as in the much superior Lies She Told (2017).
