A chilling prologue is only a brief introduction to the tense action that follows in this crime thriller.
I’ll start by saying I don’t know if I agree with the “crime” part of the identification. While crimes were committed (and some pretty heinous ones) I would say that is more thriller.
Anyway, Stephanie Miller has moved her daughter to a secluded island in Washington to try to get a fresh start. Right from the beginning, it is obvious that there is going to be conflict surrounding her job.
She’s a climate scientist. And we all know what a touchy subject that can be. Shortly, horrible things about her appear on the internet, her daughter is taunted at school, and her life is pretty much destroyed.
Does it actually have to do with her job? A government contract? Is it politics in general? And what (if anything) does it have to do with the prologue?
Let’s just say there is a lot going on.
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I found the sections involving the internet/cyber aspects to be especially interesting. It’s pretty well-known how prevalent troll farms are, but there was good detail here that illustrated how morally bankrupt some people can be.
I did find the climate aspect to be a bit off-putting as there were a few times where it felt preachy. And of course, the evil right is once again painted as “science deniers” which was annoying, because it’s such a lopsided perspective.
But I guess you have to have bad guys somewhere.
It takes a while for the author to get around to the connection between the prologue and the rest of the story, and at times it seemed to wander a bit far afield. I wish some passages had been a bit tighter.
There were also some good red herrings and a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming so those were a nice surprise.
I think it was a good read – I just wish it had been more focused and less preachy in places. But it was still a page-turner and the things I didn’t enjoy might not bother other readers.
Twitter: lalarkinauthor
Website: https://lalarkin.com/
Author Bio:
L.A. Larkin is a crime-thriller author, published by Bookouture. Her latest novel, Widow’s Island, is now available for pre-order and is described as “an absolutely nail-biting crime thriller with a heart-pounding twist.”
She is also the author of Prey, Devour, Thirst, and The Genesis Flaw and she writes a funny dog detective mysteries under the pseudonym of Louisa Bennet.
