e-Audio, 16:40:56
Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
Release Date: April 2, 2024
Published by: Delacorte Press
Read from: March 21-23, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received a copy of this e-audiobook from the publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Infertility, Rape, Blood
For Readers Interested In: Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, YA, Family Diversity (Missing Mom)A new true-crime fueled mystery thriller about a girl determined to uncover the shocking truth about her missing mother while filming a documentary on the unsolved case.
Lights. Camera. Lies.
18-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.
But the case is dragged up from the past when the Price family agree to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.
Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And – could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .
From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl’s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.
*MY THOUGHTS*
It’s been a long time since a book gave me the reaction that this one did. I mean I was talking out loud to the book, I was stress eating girl scout cookies, I was constantly updating my friend on where I was in the book, and I was even PACING. This book did a number on my mental health lol
Ok so the reason I was so excited about this book was because it was by the incomparable Holly Jackson. But besides that, I fell in LOVE with the idea that there was a cold case/unsolved mystery about her mom and the fact that there was a documentary surrounding it. Like this is literally the type of thing I would watch on tv. So I’ve been waiting not so patiently for this to come out. And as soon as I saw it, I listened to it immediately. And I was not disappointed. The writing style is classic Jackson, which means the plot is all over the place lol It is a slow burn, but it didn’t feel like that. I actually enjoy her writing and knew there was going to be something off the wall that was about to happen. And sure enough, it was.
With that being said, I guess a small, infinitesimal part of the person responsible. And let me just tell you, even with that one good guess I got, it was still mostly wrong lol And I never once got the why lol I don’t think I could come up with a story like this in my wildest dreams. And let me just say, EVERY CHARACTER is a suspect at least once throughout the story. That’s not up for debate. If you read this and say that you guessed right, you’re lying. I just can’t believe you because this was crazy lol She had to have been laughing at us while she wrote this, like “how can I eff them up even more?”
I don’t want to say too much more because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. But let me just say, you have no idea what’s to come lol And just the other day I was complaining about a thriller that was a slow burn and how it made me bored. I thought it was because it was a slow burn. But nope. It must’ve been the writing style. And the reward of the weird part at the end helped to keep me glued to the book. The further you get in the book, the crazier it gets. Definitely was a book that I will be adding to my collection.
Overall, I give this
