*Review may contain spoilers.
Rating: 8/10 (4/5 on Goodreads)
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Blurb:
If you’re looking for a book that will grip you from the start this is it. It has the classic elements of a female-lead thriller that have been popular for that last decade: unreliable narrator, sex, and high suspense. I didn’t necessarily want to like this book, but am rating it four stars, because gosh, did it hook me.
The quick run through: writer, Lowen Ashleigh, gets hired by writer, Verity Crawford, to finish her bestselling series, well, kind of. Lowen is hired by Verity’s husband, Jeremy. This is because Verity has been seriously injured and is unable to finish the series. In order to write, Lowen stays at the Crawford’s house to do research when she uncovers a manuscript of Verity’s autobiography. What revealed in Verity’s manuscript is dark, twisted, and hard to stomach. On top of this, Lowen is also finding herself more and more attracted to Jeremy. What ensues is a suspenseful thrill as you get into the mind of both authors.
Pros:
- Heart-racing scenes that make you jumpy and want to keep reading more
- You really get into the head of the inner struggles of the main character including all her reasoning
- Hoover wrote an incredible villain
Cons:
- Some of the details don’t seem plausible — in particular Verity. There is no explanation for how she got away with a key part of the plot
- Despite getting into the head of the protagonist and understanding her thought process, I could not sympathize with her. Although, I’m not sure I was supposed to.
- Uses cheap tricks to get the reader engaged. In particular, the EL James style of describing sex.
Musings by Michelle 