Primary Genre(s): Thriller, Mystery
Published: 7 Aug 2018 by Berkley
Page count: 404
My Format: Audiobook
Cover: Good
Pacing: Painfully slow
Ending: Okay
Would I recommend it: No
Commission Link: https://amzn.to/30OenMj
My rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis from Goodreads
On a bright January morning in the London suburbs, a family moves into the house they’ve just bought in Trinity Avenue. Nothing strange about that. Except it is your house. And you didn’t sell it.
When Fiona Lawson comes home to find strangers moving into her house, she’s sure there’s been a mistake. She and her estranged husband, Bram, have a modern co-parenting arrangement: bird’s nest custody, where each parent spends a few nights a week with their two sons at the prized family home to maintain stability for their children. But the system built to protect their family ends up putting them in terrible jeopardy. In a domino effect of crimes and misdemeanors, the nest comes tumbling down.
Now Bram has disappeared and so have Fiona’s children. As events spiral well beyond her control, Fiona will discover just how many lies her husband was weaving and how little they truly knew each other. But Bram’s not the only one with things to hide, and some secrets are best kept to oneself, safe as houses.
My Thoughts
I was intrigued by the opening lines in the synopsis for this book. Someone moving into my house and I didn’t sell it? Crazy! However, while that was part of the story, it wasn’t the real story. I felt a little misled to be honest. Here are my pros and cons:
Pros
- The premise in intriguing. This book is an interesting (if slightly convoluted) look at what can happen when you can’t control yourself… when that need for competition and that requirement for a constant thrill can get out of hand.
- I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were very good.
- I really only connected to Bram, but only because he stirred negative emotions me. I can’t stand people like him.
- There was a unique and “if you blink you’ll miss it” twist at the very end of the story.
Cons
- The book was TOO long! WAY TOO LONG! I started listening on 2x speed and it was still too long. The story wasn’t bad, but it just dragged way too much for me and I got very bored throughout the entire middle section of the book. It was very repetitive and plodding with nothing really happening. I was disappointed.
- I never connected to Fiona at all – she was pretty one-dimensional to me.
- A few too many convenient circumstances to be believable.
Summary
Like I said above, the premise of this story was intriguing but I felt the execution was lacking. Sadly, there was no “thrill” in this thriller for me.
If you would like to read this book and form your own opinion, please consider purchasing through this link: https://amzn.to/30OenMj. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!
I am so sorry to hear that the book didn’t deliver. The premise does sound amazing and I would have picked this one up just from the synopsis, but, like you, I would have been disappointed to learn that this is just a small portion of the book. Thank you for this insightful review!
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I think some major editing would greatly improve this story. It was just too much “stuffing” with too little payoff (for me).
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Very balanced and well written review! Like you, I also cannot get into slow thrillers where the story just drags on. I hope your next read is much better!
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Thanks so much for the compliment! And my current book is much more enjoyable! 🤗
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Finally someone other than me has not enjoyed this book. I thought it was OK at the start but it just got worse until I had to skim read it 😀
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It had potential… it was just way too drawn out and boring. Massive editing might have helped. Have you read any other books by this author? I have not and I’m not sure I want to now.
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No I haven’t read any others of hers – and I’m not going to either. There were so many things I disliked about this one. I won’t go into detail but it’s all there in my review.
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I just read your review and agree 100%. Something was just terribly “off” in this book. It simply didn’t work on several levels. (Great review by the way!)
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Sorry this one didn’t meet the mark. There’s always next time!
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That’s exactly right! Onward and upward! 🤗
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Yeah!
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Oh, my! Good review; unfortunate book. 🤔 That’s too bad because the plot idea, based on the summary, did in fact sound really interesting.
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I’m sorry the book wasn’t what you’d hoped for. This is a really great review.
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I just checked out the book and saw the page amount, it IS a long one. Thank you for the heads up about this one!!
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Thanks!
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I’m thinking about a 100 page reduction/edit would have improved this book quite a bit.
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Oh thank you! Waterstones bookshop was really plugging this book and I almost bought it. I think the concept was intriguing but the story just didn’t work for me 🙂
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I typically try to avoid books in general when they are overhyped and pushed too much. I’ve found that I’m usually (but not always) disappointed in them.
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