Well, our book club is known for its love of mystery/thriller books and Alice Feeney is, of course, such a well-known author of this genre. So of COURSE we decided to read one of her books!
Honestly, the idea of comparing this book to the popular TV series was also a huge selling point because, well, it sounded fun. 🤷🏻♀️
For anyone who wants to see the comparison between the TV series and the book (at least, what WE noticed), check out this link here.
Okay, so this story follows Anna and Jack. Anna Andrews is a journalist/ news anchor, who is trying to salvage her career. Jack is the detective/ ex-lover of the initial murder victim.
So, no spoilers, but we learn immediately that Jack had previously been *with* (yes, sex) Rachel, the initial murder victim. But since he is a detective, he’s aware that if anyone finds out, he’d be the main suspect and he doesn’t want that, because he is adamant that he didn’t kill Rachel.
Granted, we only see what the main characters want us to see, BUT he swears he isn’t involved in the death. So 🤷🏻♀️
Anyway.
Anna and Jack, as we quickly learn, are exes. They had been married, but after the death of their child (😢 Extremely sad), they couldn’t salvage their marriage. They drifted apart and eventually divorced.
This story primarily follows both him (Jack) and her (Anna), to try to figure out who might’ve committed the murder of Rachel (and eventually, others).
Book Stats
- Publication Date: 07/28/20
- Publisher: Flatiron Books
- Format: ebook
- Chapters: 56
- Pages: 314
- Narrator POV: 1st person, alternating between Alice & Jack, with some POV from the killer
- Kindle Unlimited 🖤
Ronni’s Review
Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Spice: 🌶️/ 5
We’ve read Alice Feeney before, and I have to say, I won’t stop now. She can weave a tale that captures attention. I loved this one more than Beautiful Ugly. The mystery of trying to figure out who the killer was was a rollercoaster of a ride. I had my suspicions, but Feeney had a way of making me doubt myself every time. When the conclusion came, I was both shocked and not.
It’s my favorite kind of thriller. The kind with twists, turns, and events that you *ahem, Shayna* shouldn’t overthink.
I was really pleased with the Anna and Jack outcome. I didn’t feel terrible about the murders of all of the characters in the book; I feel like they all had it coming. I do feel bad for the children in the story. Ultimately, things turn out well, but I was just sad because they don’t understand what’s happening.
Shayna’s Review
Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/ 5
Spice: 🌶️/ 5
Hmm. Okay. Well, I didn’t hate this. I had read another Alice Feeney book before, Beautiful Ugly, and I guess I had expected similar vibes. And while it’s cool that authors can write multiple styles/types of books, I think I maybe expected a little more weird/ uniqueness.
That’s not to say this book wasn’t interesting. I did really enjoy the premise, and I was extremely excited to start it! But it just wasn’t what I had expected from Feeney. Though I shouldn’t have expected much, since I had only read 1 book of hers prior to this.
Anyway. So up until the 2nd half of the book, I was super interested. I loved that both Anna and Jack were written to be suspects, even though I really didn’t think either would be responsible for the deaths. Only because I felt like that would be too obvious, since we were being pushed that way. I really had no other reason to think that, especially with the evidence we are constantly given!
But starting in the 2nd half of the book, things just feel…ridiculous. I don’t want to give spoilers here, so I won’t give much detail. Though I will include some spoiler warnings below and give a bit more detail there, if you want it.
For this section, though, I shall remain spoiler free. So, I’ll just say that some things seemed unrealistic and kinda out there. Not in a “OMG, I can’t believe it!” way. But more in a “OMG. I…can’t believe it” way. If that makes sense? 😅
I feel like there was another ending that would’ve made so much more sense, while still being enjoyable. I honestly kinda feel like the actual ending was just included for the “Wow” factor and not because it actually made any sense.
I gave this 1 pepper, but it’s not really spicy. There are intimate scenes, mostly mentioned in passing, not actually happening on page. But some could definitely be triggering, even if vague, so I wanted at least a pepper here to prepare any readers.
OKAY. Time for spoilers and details.
**SPOILERS below***
If you don’t want to read spoilers, quit scrolling!
Alright. So here are my main complaints. And you may totally disagree! Which is one thing I love about books. We can all read the same book, but experience it differently – the emotions, the expectations, everything. So, feel free to let us know if you agree/disagree and why. 😊
OKAY.
My complaints:
- Anna and Jack are suddenly still in love again after all the crap happening. Which I don’t love. I mean, I enjoy a HEA, but it felt unrealistic. Like, yes. They loved each other once and suffered something traumatic, which ultimately led to the end of their marriage. But I don’t know. It’s difficult to explain, but their interactions throughout the book were not what I would expect from anyone in love. Their characters clashed and maybe it was how I read it, but it didn’t’ feel like there was any chemistry at all. So, getting back together felt dumb to me.
- Apparently after Priya shot Cat, Anna somehow snuck the knife into her bag without anyone seeing? Really? Even though she hadn’t known before that it was her mom, so she would’ve been caught off guard and shocked? And Priya was a trained detective? But sure, a shocked Anna was able to quickly and sneakily grab/hide the knife. Seems extremely unrealistic to me.
- Mama. You’re telling me she just sat around in her own waste and a disgusting house on the off chance that someone might stop by, so she can pretend to be suffering from dementia? Really? This is one of my biggest complains, honestly.
- How did enough of Anna’s ripped letter pieces get stuck in the fireplace and not just burn? You’re telling me it was ripped and a fire was going, but Alice was able to get enough of the pieces to read and learn what happened? No.
- And how could Alice have gotten around so stealthily during the day when she was supposed to be readily available at home, pretending to be ill? I mean, she was showing up constantly in the hotel room to take care of Anna, plus killing people, but still she was home enough to seem ill? Illogical.
- When Zoe was dying, why take the time to write “Andrews” instead of something shorter like “Bees” or “Alice” or something, to indicate the mom was involved? And if it was meant as a warning to Anna or whatever, “Anna” would’ve still been way shorter/quicker.
- Finally, if Anna’s mom thought she couldn’t ever move because she had buried her husband in the yard, why was she packing up the house? That makes zero sense.
Honestly, I felt like things would’ve made a lot more sense if Cat had been behind everything. And I wouldn’t have even really blamed her, for real. She had legit reason to hate the town and people, even if some of the reasons weren’t totally accurate. Her impression/experience would’ve made it understandable.
But again, that’s just my opinion and it’s totally fine if you disagree. 😊
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