Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
Published by Grand Central Publishing
Review copy provided by SheReads

From the publisher:

On a foggy summer night, eleven people—ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter—depart Martha’s Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs—the painter—and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul’s family.

With chapters weaving between the aftermath of the crash and the backstories of the passengers and crew members—including a Wall Street titan and his wife, a Texan-born party boy just in from London, a young woman questioning her path in life, and a career pilot—the mystery surrounding the tragedy heightens. As the passengers’ intrigues unravel, odd coincidences point to a conspiracy. Was it merely by dumb chance that so many influential people perished? Or was something far more sinister at work? Events soon threaten to spiral out of control in an escalating storm of media outrage and accusations. And while Scott struggles to cope with fame that borders on notoriety, the authorities scramble to salvage the truth from the wreckage.

Amid pulse-quickening suspense, the fragile relationship between Scott and the young boy glows at the heart of this stunning novel, raising questions of fate, human nature, and the inextricable ties that bind us together.

This is one of those books that absolutely everyone is talking about, and for good reason. The novel starts out with a bang – literally – as there is a plane crash within the first few pages, and it continues to move at an extremely rapid pace as the two survivors fight for their lives, swimming miles and miles to get to shore and finally surviving both the crash and their arduous journey to safety. The rest of the book goes back and forth in time, shedding light for the reader on the lives of everyone before the crash while at the same time, letting the reader see the way the crash affected the two survivors and their relationship with each other. I loved that the story was told that way – it gave me such a complex and complete view of these characters, but slowly, over the course of the book.

There is definitely a thriller aspect to Before the Fall, but I wouldn’t put it firmly in that category. A lot of time is spent getting to know the characters and seeing how the various players were involved with one another and, in some cases, basically strangers. Much can be said of the fact that they were all keeping secrets, all hiding major things which could have possibly contributed to the reason for the crash – that’s the suspenseful part of the book. The suspenseful part is the fact that you KNOW one of these people was somehow, directly or indirectly, responsible for this horrific thing that happened, but it could be so many of them for so many reasons. I guessed a lot of things but didn’t figure it out until the very end – Hawley did a great job leading me astray, that is for sure.

Several people I’ve spoken to about this book didn’t like the ending at all. I’m not sure that I quite fall into that camp but I definitely didn’t love the ending, either. It felt like a cop-out just a bit, although it was definitely plausible. I don’t know. I liked the book so much that I kind of don’t care how I feel about the ending, does that make sense?

Anyway. Before the Fall. I liked it a lot. Definitely recommended!

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson
Published by William Morrow

From the publisher:

On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. But their game turns dark when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.”

From there, Ted and Lily’s twisted bond grows stronger as they plot Miranda’s demise, but soon these co-conspirators are embroiled in a game of cat-and-mouse–one they both cannot survive–with a shrewd and very determined detective on their tail.

You know how every thriller these days is advertised as the next Gone Girl or Girl on a Train? And how annoying that is? Well – I’m about to annoy you, because The Kind Worth Killing reminded me so much of both of those books, but only in the best possible way. I’m actually surprised it didn’t get more attention, because this book was SO GOOD.

Right from the start of the book, it’s clear that things here are not exactly as they seem. On the surface, sure – guy meets girl, guy wants to kill his wife, girl agrees to help – sounds simple and uncomplicated, right? (ha!!) Wrong. So much is happening in this book, so many twists and turns that I did not see coming. It’s a hell of a ride.

I’ll be honest and say that for a second there, I thought the book was going to go into a direction I was NOT a fan of – but it didn’t! Even crazier shit happened than what I had been anticipating. There are connections between people that I did not see coming, characters going rogue in ways I could not have imagined, just crazy stuff all over the place. Honestly – I just could not put this thing down. It was so incredibly captivating.

If you’re looking for a great thriller, look no further than The Kind Worth Killing. I was so hooked on this thing from page one. Read it!

Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica

Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica
Published by Mira
Review copy provided by NetGalley

From the publisher:

In downtown Chicago, a young woman named Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her friend and roommate Quinn Collins to wonder where Esther is and whether or not she’s the person Quinn thought she knew.

Meanwhile, in a small Michigan harbor town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex Gallo works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her charm and beauty, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more dark and sinister than he ever expected.

As Quinn searches for answers about Esther, and Alex is drawn further under Pearl’s spell, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes readers on a taut and twisted thrill ride that builds to a stunning conclusion and shows that no matter how fast and far we run, the past always catches up with us in the end.

I hate hate hate to say this, but I did not love this book. I am not sure that my feelings for it even approach like. Here’s the thing: I was hoping for a thriller. An edge-of-your-seat, can’t-put-it-down, heart racing, thriller. That’s not really what this novel is. There is a LOT of build-up. A lot a lot a lot. To the point where it almost felt like nothing was happening until the very end when BOOM everything happens all at once. And perhaps because I was hoping for something else, I was disappointed by that.

There are two stories running throughout the book: Quinn’s and Alex’s. It’s obvious that they are connected in some way, but exactly how they are connected is unclear. I have to admit that while I thought I understood the connection from the start, I was very wrong, and I do have to give it to Kubica for that – she definitely surprised me.

I wasn’t a fan of Quinn. Her roommate was missing and it seemed like she still managed to make the entire situation all about her. How about make the situation about Esther? Instead, she kept looking for and finding clues that Esther either hated her, or was angry with her, or was disappointed with her, or was keeping secrets from her – she had the situation so revolved around herself it was just weird to me. And there was a non-romance situation with a guy who had a girlfriend, which just felt like it didn’t belong in the story in any way.

Alex I liked, but he was much more young and innocent, a “good person” in an obvious way, so it’s no wonder I liked him. I understood why he was intrigued by Pearl and hopeful to get to know her better, but it was obvious from the beginning that the whole situation was bad news and he probably should have just run like hell in the other direction. I also think that his back story could have been explored a bit more in-depth, but I suppose he wasn’t exactly the point of the book.

I’m sad to say I didn’t enjoy Don’t You Cry too much. Obviously I finished it, so there’s something, but truthfully it felt way too slow for almost the entire book, just to hit me over the head with a huge revelation at the end. Not exactly what I was hoping for when I decided to read a thriller. I have enjoyed one of Kubica’s novels in the past, though, so I’m certainly not giving up on her!

11/22/63 by Stephen King

11/22/63 by Stephen King
Published by Scribner

From the publisher:

Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away…but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke… Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten…and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful.

I continue to be shocked at myself by the fact that I hadn’t read a book by Stephen King until I was over the age of thirty. WHAT the hell had I been waiting for all this time? And while this is only my third experience with King, I’m still in awe of his incredible talent as a writer as well as the variety of his work – the three books of his I’ve read at this point have each been so different from one another, yet each contain elements of a signature style that I’m beginning to recognize as uniquely King.

But let’s talk about 11/22/63, shall we? I’ll start with the obvious: the length of this thing overwhelmed me for quite some time, which is why it’s been on my TBR for years. It intimidated me as I began reading it, too, because it did take me a good fifty or so pages to really be into the story and wanting to know what happens next. BUT once it gets going, it is really going. And I quickly forgot about the fact that the book was more than 800 pages as I immersed myself in the story, in this world, and got to know and care about these characters.

There’s a lot going on in this sprawling, mind-bending journey of a novel, and I loved just about every minute of the journey. To talk much about plot would ruin some key points that I believe would be spoilery, but let’s just say that even though there is a LOT of plot, and also a lot of not too terribly much happening, the book never for one second felt too long for me. There’s a lot of preparation for things that will happen, a lot of nervous anticipation that said things might not (will probably not) go as planned, but all that build-up is quite worth the several major BOOMs throughout the book. One thing that made the length of the book more of a positive than a negative was the depth of character development King was able to do within those eight hundred pages. I truly got to know and understand Jake – his motivations, his hopes, dreams, plans for the future, his biggest fears – everything about him. The minor characters were less interesting, mostly because I think everything and everyone was supposed to pale in comparison to what Jake was trying to accomplish, but I enjoyed getting to know them even so.

I’ve heard some readers complaining about the love story, saying it wasn’t necessary to the plot, but I have to disagree. If anything, I feel it enhanced the plot because it gave Jake an additional sense of urgency to do what he came to do. Also, it added another element of suspense to the story, as there were several times where his journey and goals were thwarted because of his relationship. There were moments when it seemed like he might give up the entire goal of why he came there simply because he found love instead. I liked that aspect of the book quite a bit.

11/22/63 was so much fun and I’m incredibly glad I finally picked it up. I really, truly understand why Stephen King has so many die-hard fans. If you’re one of them – which Stephen King should I pick up next? Which of his novels is your absolute favorite?

Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter

Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter
Published by HarperTorch

From the publisher:

A small Georgia town erupts in panic when a young college professor is found brutally mutilated in the local diner. But it’s only when town pediatrician and coroner Sara Linton does the autopsy that the full extent of the killer’s twisted work becomes clear.

Sara’s ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, leads the investigation — a trail of terror that grows increasingly macabre when another local woman is found crucified a few days later. But he’s got more than a sadistic serial killer on his hands, for the county’s sole female detective, Lena Adams — the first victim’s sister — want to serve her own justice.

But it is Sara who holds the key to finding the killer. A secret from her past could unmask the brilliantly malevolent psychopath… or mean her death.

After being impressed with Slaughter’s newest thriller, Pretty Girls, I decided to go back and read some of her older titles, and since this is the first book in a substantial series, it made sense to start here. I’m glad I did, because I plan to continue reading these books and the characters really started to grow on me in just the first book.

While Blindsighted wasn’t the best thriller ever, it was definitely engaging, kept me on the edge of my seat, and was pretty brutal in terms of the murder/gory stuff. I’m getting better at handling that stuff in fiction, because I really do like these kinds of books, and I hope to continue reading more like it.

The main thing I liked about the book was getting to know the characters and watch the relationships begin to take shape. The mystery part was good, but I’m thinking her books get better because I definitely felt Pretty Girls was much stronger in terms of the writing and pacing of the book. I am looking forward to reading more of the series to continue to get to know the characters and see Slaughter’s writing and storytelling continue to grow.

What She Left by T.R. Richmond

What She Left by T.R. Richmond
Published by Simon & Schuster
Review copy provided by the publisher

From the publisher:

On a snowy February morning, the body of twenty-five-year-old journalist Alice Salmon washes up on a riverbank south of London. The sudden, shocking death of this beloved local girl becomes a media sensation, and those who knew her struggle to understand what happened to lively, smart, and savvy Alice Salmon. Was it suicide? A tragic accident? Or…murder?

Professor Jeremy Cooke, known around campus as Old Cookie, is an anthropologist nearing the end of his unremarkable academic career. Alice is his former student, and the object of his unhealthy obsession. After her death, he embarks on a final project—a book documenting Alice’s life through the digital and paper trails that survive her: her diaries, letters, Facebook posts, Tweets, and text messages. He collects news articles by and about her; he transcribes old voicemails; he interviews her friends, family, and boyfriends.

Bit by bit, the real Alice—a complicated and vulnerable young woman—springs fully formed from the pages of Cookie’s book…along with a labyrinth of misunderstandings, lies, and secrets that cast suspicion on everyone in her circle—including Jeremy himself.

Don’t you hate when you go into a book expecting something great and it’s just … okay? When you are excited about a book that turns into a let-down? It’s the WORST. And for me, that’s what happened here. While there were things I enjoyed about What She Left, overall I really did not like the book.

I didn’t dislike everything about this novel. I was interested by the structure – it’s told in letters, diaries, Facebook posts, Tweets, etc. All of these elements individually tell small pieces of Alice’s life, and they come together in the end to reveal what really happened to her and what secrets she (and those around her) had been keeping. Also, the character of Jeremy Cooke was sufficiently creepy and definitely fit the bill of unreliable narrator (something I enjoy). I thought Richmond did a good job crafting his character, making him someone that I needed to trust to give me the truth, but couldn’t possibly trust because he was just a bit off. I didn’t like Jeremy as a character, but I believed him in his unreliability.

What didn’t I like about the book? Pretty much everything else. Alice herself was not a likable character to me at ALL. While I don’t have to like the characters in books – in fact, disliking them is sometimes better and more interesting – in this case I just couldn’t get myself to care about her. I was supposed to be invested in the truth of what happened to her, in finally learning her entire story, and it did not matter to me one bit. I had to force myself to keep reading, to find out the truth. And once it was revealed I was not emotionally invested in Alice enough to be shocked or sad or anything. I was just “meh” about her and the whole story.

Also I feel like the author threw a lot of curve balls into the story that may not have been necessary. Or the way they were handled could have been the problem, I’m not sure which. It was like – here’s this huge shocker! but it’s buried inside a letter that talks about ten other things, so pay attention to it, but not TOO much attention because it’s not a big deal – like that kind of random, weird reveal stuff and I just didn’t get it.

I don’t know. At times I found the book suspenseful, but mostly it felt rambly and a bit plodding and just not something I got into. For a book that isn’t very long it felt really, super long and I wanted to give up many times while reading it. Perhaps this would be a more successful book for another reader, but I am not that reader.

Mini-reviews (attempting to wrap up 2015 reading, part 2)

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
Published by William Morrow

Twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenage sister, Julia, disappeared and hasn’t been seen since. Though the sisters have not spoken in years, when Claire’s husband goes missing, they agree to a shaky truce in order to uncover the truth behind both disappearances and find out if there is any way the two are linked.

This book is a LOT darker than I was expecting. It is extremely tough subject matter to get through – don’t say I didn’t warn you. But if you can deal with the most grisly, disturbing aspects of humanity, this is a must-read for sure. The relationship between Claire and Lydia is strained, to put it mildly, and it takes Slaughter a little bit to show the reader why exactly that is. While both women are extremely prickly and difficult to get to know, it’s clear from the beginning that they are both hiding major pain underneath their tough exteriors. And the book is SO fast-paced, the definition of unputdownable, if you like that kind of thing, this is a winner for sure. The book stuck with me for quite a while, it actually put me in a bit of a funk, seeing how the absolute worst of the worst things can happen to young girls be played out in the novel in excruciating detail, but also I think that’s a mark of an excellent read – one that you can’t stop thinking about after. If you can stomach the most horrific kinds of rape and murder that can happen to a person, Pretty Girls is an excellent read.

The 9/11 Report by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon
Published by Hill & Wang

This is a graphic nonfiction version of the 9/11 Commission Report published in 2005, a huge nonfiction account of the 9/11 attacks that most people never read. Jacobson and Colon sought to make that report much more accessible to the public, and in creating this work of graphic nonfiction, they’ve done that.

I don’t have much to say about this one other than I highly recommend it. Most people won’t ever read the MASSIVE nonfiction 9/11 report that was written in 2005, so this is a great substitute and seems to hit on all the important facts. Beyond that, the artwork is great and the book itself is written in such a way that makes the events of 9/11 extremely easy to follow and understand. I visited the 9/11 Museum in New York City in October, so reading this shortly after that visit just brought all that I saw back to the top of my mind. If you’re going to read or learn about the events on 9/11 at all and don’t have time for a 500+ piece of nonfiction, I suggest starting here.

Dirty Wings by Sarah McCarry
Published by St. Martin’s Giffin

This is the story of Cass and Mia, two unlikely friends who find solace in one another when the world has failed each of them. Mia is a teenage piano prodigy and spends her days isolated in her home, laser-focused on her future, under her parents’ close watch. Cass is a runaway, a homeless teen who is knowledgeable about the world in ways Mia never could be. When the two meet and Cass springs Mia from her prison, they have the adventure of Mia’s lifetime. And Cass thinks everything couldn’t be more perfect, until Jason comes along. Jason, who takes Mia’s attention away from Cass, and just might ruin everything the girls have built together.

I enjoyed this book a lot but felt that there were things I might have been missing about it. It’s a retelling of the Persephone myth, which I am embarrassed to admit that I’m not familiar with. In addition, it’s the second book in a series, and I hadn’t read the first book. Even so, I really liked this story and was inspired by the courage shown by both of these girls. I love reading about friendship between girls and women, especially when it’s not based upon their relationship to a boy (which, in this case, it wasn’t until Jason came into the picture), and it’s something extra to see that friendship have the potential to blossom into something more. I would definitely read more from McCarry – her writing is gorgeous and her characters are truly complex. I’m not certain I grasped everything this story was trying to show me, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Mini-reviews (attempting to wrap up 2015 reading, part 1)

A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan
Published by Simon & Schuster
Review copy provided by the publisher

Alice Pearce is a wife, mother of three, and part-time editor, and is mostly happy with what her life has become. But when her husband decides to abandon his career in favor of embarking on his own path, she decides to find full-time work in order to support their family financially. Her new job at Scroll, a technology-focused start-up that claims to be the future of reading is exciting, and Alice’s new ability to “have it all” by balancing her new career and her family so effectively is something she is rather proud of. Until things begin to fall apart in all areas, forcing her to take a look at her choices and figure out what “having it all” really means for herself.

I am of two minds about A Window Opens. On the one hand, I really liked Alice and the story was very entertaining for me. I enjoyed watching her navigate her way into an entirely new world for herself and find success despite setback after setback. I also loved the satire-ish way Egan explained Scroll’s corporate culture (which, being very well-versed in the corporate world myself, I know is more truth than fiction). But in the end I am just not sure I appreciate Egan’s messaging. It felt to me that Alice was forced to make a choice between career and family, when in reality it’s just not like that for most women. For most women it’s a combination of choice and necessity, and most women end up doing both home stuff and career stuff and not “having it all” but “making it work”. And WHY couldn’t she have had a conversation about gender in this book anywhere? Why did the whole thing have to be about Alice’s sacrifices and nothing about her husband’s? Anyway. While I liked the book a lot, ultimately the ending kind of annoyed me. So not a favorite, but still a well-written and entertaining novel.

Day Four by Sarah Lotz
Published by Hodder & Stoughton

It’s four days into a five day cruise when the ship completely shuts down. There’s no electricity, no cell service, but the passengers and crew don’t panic right away – they know someone will come for them soon. Very quickly, though, things escalate from nerve-wracking to downright terrifying as food begins running out, toilets start to back up, and a woman is found dead on the ship. Everyone starts to panic as they face the fact of a potential murderer among them, in addition to even darker possibilities.

This book is definitely creepy, especially for those of you who, like myself, love a good cruise. Day Four kept me furiously turning pages, desperate to find out what fate was in store for all of these people. It’s probably best to go into this book with very little in the way of expectation, because it definitely didn’t go the way I was expecting. That being said, there’s a TON of ambiguity here and I was deeply unsatisfied with the ending. So take that any way you want, but know that it is for sure a terrifying ride.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Maddy is a teenager living in isolation from the outside world, because she has an incredibly rare disease that makes her allergic to almost everything in it. She is content to spend time with her mom and her nurse, Carla, and her books and internet and all the wonderful things that can be experienced from inside a home, until Olly moves in next door. Olly, who she begins to fall in love with, forces her to think outside her bubble and makes her crave the outside world in a way she never thought possible.

Okay. So I really REALLY loved this book for most of it. I loved Maddy, loved her slow-building relationship with Olly, loved how the book was all about living life to the fullest and seizing the moment, and embracing love, and just learning to be a grownup and all that comes with that transition. But something happened that I saw coming from a mile away, and because I usually don’t see these things, it annoyed me to no end that it was completely obvious to me. And that something changed the way I saw the book, in a big way. I know many people felt differently about this book than I did. And in fact, I still would say this is quite a wonderful novel. But it’s not love for me, when all is said and done. It is a beautifully told story with believable characters and a plot that didn’t end up working for me. Does that make sense?

Misery by Stephen King

Misery by Stephen King
Published by Signet

From the publisher:

Paul Sheldon. He’s a bestselling novelist who has finally met his biggest fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes and she is more than a rabid reader—she is Paul’s nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house. Now Annie wants Paul to write his greatest work—just for her. She has a lot of ways to spur him on. One is a needle. Another is an ax. And if they don’t work, she can get really nasty…

I read this for the Misery Read-along (#MiseryRAL) because I was looking to read another King novel after being pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Mr. Mercedes. I’m thinking I’ll need to keep reading King, because I see how good he is at the creep factor, but I didn’t love this book anywhere near as much as my first experience with his work.

Paul Sheldon was not a character I liked. At all. Sure, I felt bad for the guy, and a part of me hoped he would end up okay after all of this, but for some reason I didn’t connect with his character so I couldn’t quite care about him at the level I probably should have. He just seemed like kind of an asshole before Annie came into his life – the snippets he told the reader about his life showed me that he wasn’t the kind of guy I’d want to befriend – so I don’t know, I didn’t quite get there with him.

Annie was batshit crazy and the best part of the book for me, by far. Her insanity was at a whole other level, and King definitely kept me on my toes with her behavior. I never knew what she would do next, but I was sure it would be more terrible than the last thing she did. Just the fact that I knew she was in the same house as Paul kept that ominous feeling going throughout the book and I loved feeling like maybe something crazy will happen, or maybe she’ll just give Paul some more medicine and go to sleep. It was an emotional roller coaster in the best way.

Some of the things that happened were a little much for me with the gross factor (tractor!) but I expected that and was able to handle it. Also, it took me quite a while to get into the book – I felt the first half was pretty slow, especially given the high expectation I had for King’s stuff to pull me in. Also, I wasn’t a huge fan of the story within the story thing (and based on what I read of that story I didn’t find Paul Sheldon to be all that talented of an author, which annoyed me).

But those things aside, I can see King’s talent and I appreciate what he did with Misery. The creep (oogy?) factor was totally there and the way he crafted this character of Annie was pretty incredible. Not my favorite King (of the only two I’ve read, haha), but I’ll keep reading more for sure.

The Daughter by Jane Shemilt

The Daughter by Jane Shemilt
Published by William Morrow Paperbacks
Review copy provided by She Reads

While Jenny’s life is extremely busy with her career as a physician, twin sons Ed and Theo, and their younger sister Naomi, she couldn’t be happier with the path she and her husband Ted, a neurosurgeon, have chosen for their family and marriage. When fifteen-year-old Naomi disappears one night, seemingly leaving not a clue behind, Jenny is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her life, her children, and her ability to understand and take care of her family.

As I read this novel, I couldn’t help but get pulled in by the characters and the story Shemilt created. There is definitely a thriller-like aspect to The Daughter – what happened to Naomi is the central theme throughout the book and everything else kind of spins around that axis. I found myself furiously turning pages, desperate to find out Naomi’s whereabouts and hopeful that Jenny would get some answers and that her beautiful, young, smart daughter with so much ahead of her would come home safely.

While the plot kept me on the edge of my seat, and my initial response to the novel was that I enjoyed the ride it gave me, if I was a bit ambivalent of the some of the characters and their choices, after thinking about it some more I have to admit to feeling more lukewarm about the book. I think the major issue I have is that I don’t love the way Jenny was portrayed in the book. It’s a delicate balance for a writer to handle a working mother with respect and grace, and I think that in general Shemilt did an okay job with that, but I did feel somewhat uncomfortable by parts of the book. For one, Jenny goes from feeling extremely confident that she knows her children better than anyone to feeling extremely guilty about her work schedule and almost blaming herself and her decision to work full-time for Naomi’s disappearance. While I understand that working mothers go through complicated emotions about their choices (just as stay-at-home mothers do), the vast up-and-down of her emotions around work/life balance felt inauthentic to me.

Also there were a few points throughout the novel where it felt like outsiders were almost blaming Jenny’s choice to work for her daughter’s choices and ultimately her disappearance. What about Naomi’s father’s choices? What about the fact that Jenny was modeling how to have a successful career AND a family for her sons and daughter? I wished more mention of these aspects of a working parents’ life would have been in the book, instead it was all about the guilt Jenny felt and about the complete lack of guilt her husband felt (who worked a tremendous amount more than Jenny).

I’m also not sure how believable the ending was. What happened to Naomi is entirely possible, of course, but the way the whole thing came together just didn’t ring true for me.

What I did like was the way the story was told – Shemilt takes the reader back and forth from before and right after Naomi disappeared to a year or so later, in alternating chapters. Jenny narrates the whole thing, so you have a general idea of what happened to Naomi based on some things she says in the later portions, but it’s pretty ambiguous. The format definitely kept me on my toes. And I think Shemilt did a good job with the whodunit factor – I wasn’t sure what the heck was going on with this teenager and it could have gone a few different ways at a few points throughout the book.

While I had a few issues with The Daughter, I thought it was a decent thriller, one that at least kept me turning pages very quickly. I didn’t love it but I know others did so if this is your thing, give it a try and decide for yourself.