by Shari Lapena

A Mystery/Thriller, 2024 by Pamela Dorman Books, 307 Pages 

What I Didn’t Like:

• Huge cast jumps around perspective a lot and gets a bit confusing as you try and remember who this character is. 
• Two very similar suspects. It felt like an odd choice to make these two people appear in the same story. 
• The solution was unsatisfactory. I felt cheated out of something with more meaning, somehow. It just fell flat.

What I Did Like:

• The goal here was to make the entire town feel like a character, I think. To show how something like this affects everyone. The vast number of viewpoints helps with this.
• The victim’s viewpoint was interesting. It added something to the story without being all knowing.
• Red herrings abound, which is often a good thing in a mystery story because it keeps things interesting.

Who Should Read This One:

• If you’re a reader who likes big casts and red herrings, this may fit the bill. I will say there are a lot of books that do this, and some of them do it better.

My Rating: 2 Stars

• Some of the choices felt gimmicky and the story fell flat.