A Small Affair by Flora Collins is one of the more unique books I’ve read this year. I have a hard time defining it. Mystery? Thriller? Mystery Thriller? All of the above?
The reader knows from the beginning that something happened to Vera that turned her world upside down and inside out.
However, the exact details of that are revealed slowly throughout the entire book. There are answers right away, but don’t mistake that for knowing everything about what happened.
You don’t.
The author saves some info until literally the very last pages.
Vera is a tough character to like. I wanted to feel sorry for her because of “the event” and how it affected her. But in the flashbacks to her life pre-event, she is not a very likable person.
I think this conundrum made the book more interesting. It kept me actively disliking the person but rooting for her because of the situation.
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There are parts that appear to be uneven. But that is only a superficial way of looking at the plot. In reality, the author paints the story in layers.
No, strike that. The author makes a collage of the events, with some characters more prominent than others. Just like Vera does.
I just now put that together.
That being said, there are layers to the onion when it comes to the plot. For example, it might seem like a departure for the author to flashback to Odilie’s past – but there’s a reason for that.
Just like there’s a reason for detailing Odilie and Tom’s relationship.
Honestly, it’s all just very twisted.
I did think that the end was a little bit disappointing. It seemed to wrap up too neatly after the mess that was Vera’s life leading up to then.
But it turns out that what she had was anything but a small affair. And Flora Collins keeps the mystery going to the end.
