Day: October 8, 2021

I love it when a book starts with a scene that draws me in and makes me wonder where the rest of the story is going to go. This one absolutely succeeds in this regard.

After a terrifying event, the reader is immediately taken to a family vacation nearly a year after the initial incident. It’s apparent from the very start that the family is struggling to heal – but just how bad it has gotten remains unseen.

The rest of the book jumps between current time (usually Kate, sometimes Andrew) on the vacation and various points over the past year. In other words, there is a lot of switching perspectives.

It sounds like that might make it confusing, but it doesn’t. It’s always very clear where the reader is in the narrative. I actually liked this method, because it felt like there was an outline of the big picture and the author was filling in the areas with color, building to the overall view.

The tension also grows as Kate not only relives the incident and worries about her family’s safety but as she realizes that things are happening that are beyond her control – and that might be an even more imminent danger than what she is worried about.

I will openly admit that I thought the story was going in a plausible direction and would have been happy with it had it turned out the way I thought it was going to.

However, and I need to choose my words carefully here, the author throws in a gigantic twist that I did NOT see coming. Once the thread on that storyline is pulled, the whole thing unravels and reforms into a gonzo, what-the-heck-just-happened crazy ride.

It was a great way to turn something good into something memorable and unique. I don’t think I’ve read a story with this particular “crime” as a focus in a very long time.

And no, I’m not going to say what it is or what the other book was, because that would give it away.

I do want to be clear. The author didn’t do this in a way that made it implausible. There was suspicious behavior by characters that could have been chalked up to coping with the incident from the beginning.

But instead, the behavior was actually something much worse. It actually gave insight to the psyche of one of the characters and illustrated how events throughout one’s life could permanently damage confidence…and cause a misplaced sense of what is right or wrong.

I’m starting to say too much.

There were a few times that Kate irritated me because it seemed as if she should have been more aware. But then I remembered that she was still dealing with the incident from the beginning and her own dose of guilt (which was being played upon), so I was able to get over it.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the twist, and I definitely recommend it.

Author Bio:
Miranda Smith writes psychological and domestic suspense. She is drawn to stories about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Before completing her first novel, she worked as a newspaper staff writer and a secondary English teacher. She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and three young children.