e-Audio, 08:27:15
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Brittany Pressley, Andrew Eiden, January LaVoy
Release Date: April 30, 2024
Published by: Blackstone Publishing
Read From: May 5, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Audible
Content Warning: Murder, Death of parent, Drug Abuse (not on page, but is recounted), Child Death, Addiction, Gun Violence
For Readers Interested In: Mystery, Adult, Sparkly Covers, Thrillers, Stand-alonesFrom New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Marriage and You Shouldn’t Have Come Here comes a chilling family thriller about the (sometimes literal) skeletons in the closet.
After their mother passes, three estranged siblings reunite to sort out her estate. Beth, the oldest, never left home. She stayed with her mom, caring for her until the very end. Nicole, the middle child, has been kept at arm’s length due to her ongoing battle with a serious drug addiction. Michael, the youngest, lives out of state and hasn’t been back to their small Wisconsin town since their father ran out on them seven years before.
While going through their parent’s belongings, the siblings stumble upon a collection of home videos and decide to revisit those happier memories. However, the nostalgia is cut short when one of the VHS tapes reveals a night back in 1999 that none of them have any recollection of. On screen, their father appears covered in blood. What follows is a dead body and a pact between their parents to get rid of it, before the video abruptly ends.
Beth, Nicole, and Michael must now decide whether to leave the past in the past or uncover the dark secret their mother took to her grave.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I know what you’re thinking…….. One of the the Content Warnings in this is Addiction. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t read the synopsis when I added this to my TBR. I just started reading it. But I found a way to help myself not miss books if I add them without looking. I just skip over that content. And that’s what I did.
Ok so let’s start there. I skipped over the sibling that had that plot line. And as it turns out, I didn’t miss that much of it. The character that was like the main character was Beth. Nicole had some moments when she stood out, but it wasn’t really like anything super important, in my opinion. I just searched certain words in the e-ARC I had and highlighted it. And then I just followed along with the audio and when I saw it come up, I just tuned it out. And it was fine.
Ok so the mystery. I’m seeing everyone say it was predictable, but I didn’t get that. I want to say it was because I was skipping over parts, but who knows. I saw someone else doing it. They made it to the end in a sense, but not exactly lol I also liked the way they were able to get all the info. It is one of my pet peeves when people get the information to the cases and its just not feasible. And yes I know it’s fiction, but it just throws the whole vibe of the book off when it’s not something that can actually happen.
The ending tho? Completely under-whelming. That whole book was like them trying to find out what happened…. And then when it did come together, it was one scene and it was over so fast! Idk I wanted more? Or at least something thrilling to happen in-between chapters. It was really, really boring actually. I was unimpressed. I guess people thought the reveal would be enough of a thrill, but for me it wasn’t. I just didn’t think it was worth it.
I used this book for one of the challenge prompts where I finally read an author that everyone else has already read. I don’t know if her other books are like this, but I will say I have to read another before I make any official judgements. It was good, but the way people were talking about the author, I was expecting a 5 star.
Overall, I give this
