All right you guys, this is one of those books that has been talked about in the book world for a few months now. It comes as a highly anticipated debut from this author and is available today! Let’s check it out.
Thank you Atria books for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.
Synopsis: The town of Whistling Ridge guards its secrets. When seventeen-year-old Abigail goes missing, her best friend Emma, compelled by the guilt of leaving her alone at a party in the woods, sets out to discover the truth about what happened. The police initially believe Abi ran away, but Emma doesn’t believe that her friend would leave without her, and when officers find disturbing evidence in the nearby woods, the festering secrets and longstanding resentment of both Abigail’s family and the people of Whistling Ridge, Colorado begin to surface with devastating consequences. Among those secrets: Abi’s older brother Noah’s passionate, dangerous love for the handsome Rat, a recently arrived Romanian immigrant who has recently made his home in the trailer park in town; her younger brother Jude’s feeling that he knows information he should tell the police, if only he could put it into words; Abi’s father’s mercurial, unpredictable rages and her mother’s silence. Then there is the rest of Whistling Ridge, where a charismatic preacher advocates for God’s love in language that mirrors violence, under the sway of the powerful businessman who rules the town, insular and wary of outsiders. But Abi had secrets, too, and the closer Emma grows to unraveling the past, the farther she feels from her friend. And in a tinder box of small-town rage, and all it will take is just one spark—the truth of what really happened that night—to change their community forever.
This is another multiple point-of-view novel taken place in different times. Not my favorite type of style thriller to read, but more and more authors are doing it so I have to bite the bullet and read on. With that in mind, it was fairly well done despite a few hiccups where I had to backtrack to pay attention to what timeline I was reading about. This was a really unique mystery which I appreciate having read a lot on my own. It started off as a typical mystery novel, and really turned into something a whole lot more intriguing. The writing was really well done for a debut author as well. I enjoyed reading this small town vibes during the summer months and highly recommend this one.
4/5 Stars
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