What a fast-paced, exciting novel. I had read her first novel (review is here) and am glad to see this one is vastly improved! (in my opinion). She has written another adult fiction too but I haven't read that one.
STORY SUMMARY
Littleport, Maine is the kind of town where there are more summer tourist/guests than year-round residents. It's an excellent vacation retreat for the very wealthy and their summer homes line the coast. During the school year, the year-round residents are like a little harbor community. They often rely on the services of the summer visitors for their year-round livelihoods.
Close friendships don't often develop between the summer visitors and the townies...especially among the teenagers. But that isn't the case with Sadie Loman (a very wealthy girl from a very prominent family) and Littleport resident Avery Greer. Every summer, for almost 10 years, Avery and Sadie have been inseparable. Until the summer of 2017 when Sadie is found dead on Breakers Beach.
The police rule the death a suicide. Yet Avery can't help but feel like there are people in the community, including members of Sadie's own family (father, Grant; mother, Bianca; brother Parker) who blame Avery.
Avery just knows someone knows more than they are saying. Avery is very intent on clearing her own name before the facts get all twisted against her.
She does some digging into the Loman company and in some of the houses they own and rent out over the summer. And that's when she discovers that all is not as it appears to be. Someone DID kill Sadie.....but who??
MY THOUGHTS
This book was much better, in my opinion, than her first adult fiction book.
This one had some interesting characters. I was a bit confused at the beginning as to how old these girls were. The description and setting make it seem like they are older high school kids or college aged, yet as the story develops we learn they've been friends for about a decade and met when they were about 15. I found it odd that the main characters...all friends/acquaintances are in their mid-20s yet still "partying" like they're in their college years. It was kind of odd.
Yet the plot quickly unfolded and was very exciting....lots of intrigue surrounding this Plus One Party. The title made no sense until towards the end when you discover just who really did kill Sadie. It's a brilliant title!
The setting is very well done...I could almost smell the salt water and the brine from the Atlantic Ocean in this seaside Maine village. (I do love Maine!).
Avery quickly tugged at my heartstrings. She's basically all alone in the world and when you find out what really happened to her parents.......it just shows that people with money think they can buy their way out of anything. So sad. And yet so true in our world.
I started to suspect who the real killer was......and I was correct. It's a great twist and not one that everyone will see coming. I just happen to read a lot of mysteries and sort of guessed it was who the author wrote to be the killer. The reason why though was not what I was expecting. It was very well done!
The main themes seem to be things like "appearances can be deceiving"; the fact that our past often does shape our future; loss; friendship; the connection between power and money; identity; and the emotional strength of a strong female protagonist.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 8.
1 comment:
I've never heard of this author before. Thanks for the review. I'll have to keep an eye out at the library.
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