This is the author's first novel. She lives in British Columbia, Canada and the cover is what intrigued me.
It was an interesting, different style of writing than what I normally choose.
STORY SUMMARY
Angela Petitjean is a suspect in the disappearance of her best friend's (who was also her high school sweetheart) wife, Saskia Parker. The detective has been interviewing her for hours. Saskia and HP (Hamish Parker) have been married since Angela graduated from Oxford University. They all live in Cove, Vermont where Angela's parents re-located after living in Boston. Saskia met HP at Angela's college ball. She is from Australia and she and HP have a little girl named Olive. Angela is the godmother.
Freddy Montgomery was an older student when Angela met him at Oxford. He has always really liked Angela but Angela is obsessed with HP and his life. Freddy is debonair and a seemingly good catch. He has never liked Saskia...in fact he has made it very well known that he can't stand her.
Saskia has vanished, seemingly without a trace. She left behind her cell phone and didn't leave any notes. She left Olive with a babysitter.
J. Novak, the homicide detective believes that Angela, who actually lived with the Parkers for a few months, knows something about Saskia's disappearance. He wants the truth.
Angela has a story to tell. It begins about ten years earlier when she first moved to Cove and entered high school. That is where she and HP formed a friendship. At one point, HP called them "Soulmates". Because Angela was awkward and shy, and HP was a star athlete, many people wondered about their relationship. Her mom loved HP and told Angela not to let him go. They were best friends until their senior year when they began dating.
But once Angela went away to college, everything began to change. Angela's dad managed to get her into Oxford University...all the way in England. HP's plan was to work in construction and be a high school coach. Time and distance were separating Angela and HP. That is when Saskia entered their lives.
Saskia has always been a "drama queen" and supposedly Angela moved on with her life. Angela is stressing to Novak that there must have been a marital issue between Saskia and HP and that is why she abruptly left. Angela insists that she has had nothing to do with Saskia's disappearance. She wants Novak to stop accusing her and to listen to what she is saying.
Once Novak learns the entire story, he will have the truth that he craves.
Will Saskia be found? Or is she dead? Did HP really kick Angela out of his house? And what about the lake? Why is that so significant??
MY THOUGHTS
This was quite different. It's labeled a psychological thriller and for the most part it is. The entire book takes place within 48 hours or so.
It's a brilliant, very different kind of plot. And yet, it was also a bit creepy and disturbing. I was propelled forward because I really wanted to know the truth of what happened but it was just a little bit too unbelievable for me.
The ending is quite abrupt and I was left feeling like......wow. But it wasn't unexpected. It's just the way the author decided to end it. Quite a powerful way, actually and very interesting in a literary sense.
The book seemed to get bogged down for me around the middle but it picked back up.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature content).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this an 8.
2 comments:
Sounds interesting. I'll give it a try.
A Canadian author from BC. I'll have to look into it.
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