Month: March 2020

I am a fan of this author, so I was excited to see the announcement of the latest release. I was quite surprised by what I found.

I absolutely loved the writing style of this book. It is not a traditional novel. Instead, the story unfolds via “interviews” of the main characters. It was fascinating to read the words of each character instead of having a “narrator” or one point of view.

I think this allowed the author to write an overwhelmingly personal story, as we got to “deep dive” into each character. Their traits and personalities were evident through their own words, as opposed to what someone else thought about them. However, we do get each character’s perspectives on the others as well.

I also enjoyed how this style made it easier to follow the plot (no jumping back and forth) and – for me, at least – gave me a better idea of who I believed and who I didn’t believe. And there is a lot to unpack in that regard.

(As always, no plot reveals here). It is quite apparent that certain characters have it out for others. Whether it is just a personality thing or if it is more nefarious, well, that’s up to the individual reader. I found myself wavering in whose story I believed more.

Does someone’s history automatically make them less believable? What about their actions after the fact; does that cast doubt on what they initially said? It’s all addressed here.

For example, most of the time, I believed Emma’s version. However, there were times that I thought she gave so much information in her “interview” that it seemed like she was trying too hard. Other times, it appeared that she was deliberately vague. That being said, Daniel (for one) had very deflective comments and seemed to rely on the premise of “I’m rich, and, therefore, you have to believe whatever I say.”

Who is telling the truth and who is lying is anybody’s guess. That continues right up until the very last page. The only thing I could complain about (and this is nitpicking)  is that I don’t feel like I got a clear idea of what actually happened on the island. But, I also recognize that this is the aim of the author – to leave it ambiguous, allowing the reader to determine where the truth of the matter lies.

It’s a bold gambit, as people generally prefer their mysteries to be wrapped up tidily by the end. I, for one, enjoyed it and found it one of the more thought-provoking reads I have had in a long time.

Author Bio

Kerry Wilkinson has had No.1 bestsellers in the UK, Canada, South Africa and Singapore, as well as top-five books in Australia. He has also written two top-20 thrillers in the United States.

As well as his million-selling Jessica Daniel series, Kerry has written the Silver Blackthorn trilogy – a fantasy-adventure serial for young adults – a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter, plus numerous standalone novels. He has been published around the world in more than a dozen languages.

Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry has spent far too long living in the north of England, picking up words like ‘barm’ and ‘ginnel’.

When he’s short of ideas, he rides his bike or bakes cakes. When he’s not, he writes it all down.