This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but I have seen “Gone Girl” which was made from a subsequent book by this writer. The movie and this book lead me to believe that the author has a gritty style – a little more off the beaten path with her characters.
The main character in this book was constantly making bad decisions, and as the story progressed we learned just how damaged she was. I wanted to root for her but she just made bad call after bad call and in the end I was less invested in her ultimate fate.
The story itself was compelling – big city girl comes back to her small town and reports on a string of murders happening there. I enjoyed the interactions between her and the locals, and divining all the interior motives. The writer has a great sense of pacing and there weren’t any unnecessary breaks or pauses in the story, so it had me turning the pages.
I felt the ending was a little contrived, with a hurried twist that didn’t seem natural, and a boss that went way beyond the call of duty in taking care of his junior staff.
So this was a fairly entertaining book, but the character turned me off. I wonder if other books by this author have the same kind of unlikable narrators…
Next I am reading The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware.
