... style overcomes substance. The writing consists of apt descriptions, the story moves apace, there are thrills and surprises throughout, and the reader always knows what's going on. But obvious red herrings litter the opening pages, and lead-footed false clues are pounded home with a sledgehammer. Because of that, for regular readers of crime fiction the identity of the Campus Killer shines through bright as a copper penny early on. Movie fans will thoroughly enjoy the many references to classic movies and how they are woven into the narrative.
Sager elevates a standard suspense trope—a young woman trapped in a car with a stranger she fears is a serial killer—in this stellar nail-biter set in 1991 ... Sager excels at playing with reader expectations and in concocting plausible, gut-wrenching twists.
The back end, though, is filled with twists. When these dramatic turns are genuinely surprising, it’s because they are absurdly baroque. In other instances, they are as inevitable as the denouement of a Greek tragedy ... Despite its flaws, readers who decide to just give in and go along for the ride will have a diverting couple of hours ahead of them. Suspenseful—and silly.
