Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Series: Standalone
Page Count: 460
Publication Year: 2014
Publisher: Penguin Publishing
Summary: In which domestic bliss is a myth.
The story begins with three mothers meeting. They don’t have much in common, but a bond is forged through their trials with their spouses, children, school, past calamities and present miseries. As events unfold across six months, all we know for sure is someone is about to be murdered.
Pros:
The novelty. Thrillers almost never appear in my reading life, so experiencing this one-off adventure is a welcome change. I don’t know if I’ll read more from this author, but my interest in this genre has blossomed.
The pacing. I inhaled this book in two sittings and it invigorated me. The short chapters and modern setting made it easy to immerse myself in the harrowing story. In-between reading the summary and starting the book, I forgot the premise, so the final sentence of the first chapter instantly sucked me in.
The red herrings. I went this way, then that, in regards to who died and who did the murdering. I completely missed the correct answer and that didn’t irritate me.
My family looks even more amazing than they already did. Watching the train-wreck of these women’s lives was both distressing and relieving. I felt so safe and sane as I read about these people falling onto unfortunate paths.
Cons:
I don’t like the plot. Maybe the point of thrillers isn’t to like the plot, but since I love plot-focused stories and avoid deplorable urban lifestyles centered around dark realities, this plot gets a hard pass from me. I look at these characters and think, “Homeschooling would’ve prevented most, if not all, of your problems.” I definitely won’t regularly seek out domestic thrillers. And the fact that actual people live in similar situations is just plain ol’ depressing.
I don’t like the characters. Troubled souls don’t resonate with me, so I can’t really root for anyone. They’re stupid, mean, unstable, volatile, and gossipy, and that could describe their kids too. Only one of the characters is nice and seemingly well-adjusted, but he barely gets any page time. The dialogue does make them sound real, but that doesn’t mean I have to like them.
Could be a pro or con:
The prose is meh. Coming from a chiefly fantasy/classic background, it’s weird to not get a sense of this author’s style. The vocabulary doesn’t wow me and the description is just there without really evoking anything. But the stripped back and unembellished approach pushes the mystery and fast pace to the front, which in this case is more important than flexing a stylistic prose.
This isn’t the pinnacle of fiction; but it’s a gripping book, which is what I wanted.
Check out my rating here.