by Joanna Wallace
A Mystery/Thriller, 2023 by Penguin Books, 336 Pages
What I Didn’t Like:
- The first chapter drops you right into an abusive parent scenario that churns your stomach. It’s one of many content warnings. Proceed with caution. Content Warning: Parental abuse, murder, blackmail.
- Some of the scenes jump times or locations without much of a warning. Sometimes it takes a beat to figure out where you are in relation to time and other characters. Probably only an issue if you’re reading multiple chapters in a sitting though.
- I wanted more from the ghost angle. It’s part of the title, it’s talked about in the spoiler, but it’s not really a part of the book. It feels like a gimmick, mentioned offhand in the story. I wanted more.
What I Did Like:
- Dry humor. In a dark book about a killer you may not expect to laugh, you’d be shocked how often you do. This one is packed with a dry humor that works.
- The mystery is solid. You try to get ahead of the main character and figure out who may be on to her secret, but you don’t see the clues before she does. It’s fascinating.
- Unhinged main character who is somehow relatable with her own morale code. She’s dark, dangerous, and murdery … yet somehow you relate to her and understand her struggles.
Who Should Read This One:
- Readers who like a dark story with a morally gray main character.
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