Sunday 22 September 2024

The Girl in the Fire by Sarah K Stephens

Grace really loves Damien... or so he thinks. So why would she disappear just before their wedding? When looking for clues as to where she could have gone, he finds a newspaper article with her picture in it claiming she died in a fire many years before and that her name was Leanne. What is going on?

 

As Damien investigates further into family relations, he finds out that secrets are buried behind secrets. And that revealing some of the secrets could be deadly.

 

The premise of this book had me really excited as I love a good and well-thought-out psychological thriller. But it kind of left me hanging. The idea is great and the short chapters between POVs from the present to the past make you want to jump to the next chapter each time one finishes. It does become a little confusing to keep up with the characters and name changes at times but you do get into it.

 

My issues were with the story itself. I get that not every book needs to be thoroughly explained or tied up with a bow but so many subplots and parts of the story were left open or were ended so quickly they made little sense. Leanne and Tasha’s big plan was so slow in the making and the explanation felt unfinished. There will always be unlikeable characters in books, but there were more unlikable characters in this book than likeable ones. And the more you read, the more your empathy switched sides.

 

But no. Once the physicality started and the reasons behind things were explained, it just got “really???” Grace’s life choice was eye-raising and if the family had had one decent conversation, none of this would have happened. It felt like too many forced twists and turns to explain it all. And the lack of comma before direct address drove me nuts!

 

The idea was great but the slow execution, leading to a fast and forced reveal, made for a disappointing last page turn.

 

Thanks to Voracious Readers Only and the author for the opportunity to review the book.



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