I loved this book. It had such a strange beginning that I couldn’t tell the direction it was headed, Then, at the perfect time, the mystery took on a life of its own. I enjoyed the mixture of love, suspense, betrayal, and forgiveness. The characters were messy, and the ending was unexpected, leading to 4.5 stars.
There were times when I couldn’t stand this book, and there were other moments when I really enjoyed the story. My biggest problem was with the main character, Ethan. His responses and actions went beyond the point of simple annoyance. He wasn’t believable, and his actions/speech took away from the mystery, which actually ended up being pretty good. I gave it 3 stars, yet I somehow still recommend it, but I’ll warn you to be prepared to become agitated.
I really wanted to like this book, but it was difficult to finish. While parts of the novel were interesting, so much of it was simply boring. As I read it, I felt like this was the type of book that smart people read and raved about. I consider myself fairly smart, but I could not find enough pleasure from the book to justify how slow and dry it was. The writing is not to blame, but it felt like reading for work rather than reading for enjoyment.
The only word that comes to mind: wow. This book was simply brilliant. I loved the characters, the sudden switch in stories, and the struggle throughout. Frey is an excellent writer though be warned there is strong language in the book. I give it 5 stars, but I did want more resolution with nearly all of the stories.
Jackson Paul Baer 