Goodreads

Release date: July 28, 2020

Publisher: Pamela Dorman

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb:

In upstate New York, Stephanie and Patrick are adjusting to life with their colicky twin babies. The girls are a handful, but Stephanie doesn’t mind being a stay-at-home mom, taking care of them while Patrick does the nine to five to pay the bills. 

When a woman from Patrick’s past drops in on them unexpectedly, raising questions about his late first wife, Stephanie supports her husband wholeheartedly. She knows the car accident all those many years ago was just that–an accident. But Erica is persistent, and now she’s threatening to go to the police.

Patrick is afraid his job–and his reputation–will be at risk if he doesn’t put an end to Erica’s questioning immediately. And when the police start digging, Stephanie’s trust in her husband begins to falter and Patrick is primed to lose everything he loves. As their marriage crumbles, Stephanie feels herself coming unglued, and soon she isn’t sure what–or who–to believe. Now the most important thing is to protect her girls, but at what cost? 

Review:

This one is tricky for me to review because I didn’t love it but I also definitely didn’t hate it either, it falls somewhere in the middle for me. I’ve been back on a thriller kick lately and I’ve read some really fantastic ones too so in comparison this one falls a bit short for me. I am a firm fan of the author and have been from the beginning though, I just don’t think this is her best book.

So what worked for me? Well I really liked the idea of this new mom, to colicky twins no less, being utterly sleep deprived and half out of her mind. I very clearly remember the days of very little sleep when my own kids were babies very well and can only imagine how much worse it would be if you’re dealing with the kind of domestic drama that Stephanie is. The pacing was good for me, it was steady enough to keep me engaged and there was enough doubt about many of the characters to keep my brain working. What didn’t work for me was the predictability, I think it was fairly easy to see where this one was headed and I think most avid thriller readers will be able to figure it out as well. The ending fell a bit flat for me too and I always expect a strong ending from this author so I was a little disappointed. Overall it wasn’t a bad read, just not quite up to my admittedly high expectations this time but I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the authors next book.

Overall rating: 3/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.