Day: May 29, 2021

The author had me from “Jamaican holiday” but kept me for a thrilling story that kept me guessing right up to the very end.

I love this author’s writing style. It’s easy to read with just enough detail to make things interesting without lots of exposition.

In other words, her books are full of “doing” and not just “telling.”

There are also great layers to the stories, with overlapping motivations, ulterior goals, and a lot going on – but it’s never confusing. This is just a great story with interesting characters told in a forthright manner.

The plot is carried from the points of view of three women, Rose, Bree, and Anabelle, as they plan and embark on a tropical vacation with their families. There are also chapters entitled “now” interspersed throughout.

Without giving the plot away, everything hinges on one event, with the ladies’ perspective occurring prior and the “now” chapters occurring in the “present” time. Everything moves seamlessly between the chapters, and nothing is ever jarring as it switches. In the latter part, some backstory is filled in via “news articles.” That was effective.

I almost instantly empathized with Rose. It seems that sometimes “overprotective moms” get a bad rap, but mom instincts cannot be denied. I liked her even more as her backstory came out (more on that in a second).

Annabelle was less clear to me. I thought out of all of the women, she was the least fleshed out. Bree was more so, but still not as clear as Rose. It also took me a few chapters to fully grasp how all three couples were connected.

Once the connections were made, however, it was interesting to watch the dynamics. The author did a great job of dropping hints throughout. Some of them were such that they only became clear when later revelations occurred.

As I mentioned earlier, the plot kept me guessing. There were a few red herrings thrown in that were natural – not just there to distract but made perfect sense in the context of the story. And the climax was not what I thought at all. I didn’t guess that part accurately.

I also liked how just when you thought the book was over, there was one more chapter…and then one more…and then one more. It was a great way to wrap up the book even after the main thrust of the story was complete.

And a word about Rose’s background. Being a Bay Area girl myself. I have many fond memories of days spent at Children’s Fairyland and Lake Merritt. So, that part of Rose’s history made me able to relate to her – not through her actions, but as I could see the location in my mind.

There’s also a mention of the Polly Klaas foundation. I was in college by then, but both Michaela Garecht and Polly Klaas were high profile missing children cases when I was a teenager. Even though it wasn’t a pivotal part of the story (for the most part) it still made it feel personal to me because I remember the times.

Even if you don’t have that frame of reference, this is an excellent book that will lull you in with an idyllic tropical vacation before pulling the rug out from underneath you. Great beach read.  

Author Bio:

M.M. Chouinard writes crime fiction (including suspense, procedurals, and cozies), and women’s fiction. M.M. Chouinard’s first fiction story was published in her local paper when she was eight, and she fell in love with Agatha Christie novels not long after. While pursuing a Ph.D in psychology and helping to found the first U.S. research university of the new millenium, the stories kept rattling around inside her skull, demanding to come out. For sanity’s sake, she released them.