Publisher: Ballantine Books / Random House Audio
Published: August 3rd, 2021
Source: Print & Audio – Personal copy
Summary:
An annual backpacking trip has deadly consequences in a chilling new novel from the bestselling author of The Lost Night and The Herd.
Emily is having the time of her life–she’s in the mountains of Chile with her best friend, Kristen, on their annual reunion trip, and the women are feeling closer than ever. But on the last night of their trip, Emily enters their hotel suite to find blood and broken glass on the floor. Kristen says the cute backpacker she’d been flirting with attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him in self-defense. Even more shocking: The scene is horrifyingly similar to last year’s trip, when another backpacker wound up dead. Emily can’t believe it’s happened again–can lightning really strike twice?
Back home in Wisconsin, Emily struggles to bury her trauma, diving head-first into a new relationship and throwing herself into work. But when Kristen shows up for a surprise visit, Emily is forced to to confront their violent past. The more Kristen tries to keep Emily close, the more Emily questions her friend’s motives. As Emily feels the walls closing in on their coverups, she must reckon with the truth about her closest friend. Can she outrun the secrets she shares with Kristen, or will they destroy her relationship, her freedom–even her life?
My thoughts:
This is the first book I’ve read by this author but it certainly will not be the last. I picked this one up as soon as it was selected as the Reese’s Book Club pick and I have to say – I’ve been loving her picks lately!
I devoured this book in one day – it grabbed me from the get-go and never let up. It was the perfect distraction on a day where we were supposed to be getting a hurricane, though it did turn out to be nothing more than a downgraded tropical storm that had weakened tremendously. Nevertheless, this was the perfect book to lose myself in and wow…did I ever!
I loved the idea of two best friends taking an annual trip and exploring different parts of the world. However, their last trip didn’t end so well and it seems while on this year’s trip, they also run into problems – both trips up with dead bodies. Is it a coincidence?
It was interesting having the book told solely from Emily’s point of view. You can really feel her anxiety come out at times and of course, you see everything from her perspective. But on the flip side, we never truly understand Kristen’s motivations and of course that leads to questions. I found myself really wondering just who was being more manipulative at times. So many times I literally gasped out loud at what was happening…was it just coincidence or was it blatant manipulation?
This book kept me on the edge all the way through with all the twists and turns and I absolutely loved every second of it. If you enjoy an atmospheric, tense read, definitely pick this one up!
Audio thoughts:
I ended up listening to this one and it was such a great choice. Becca Tobin does a fantastic job narrating it, really bringing the story to life. Her pacing and intonation are spot on and she infuses just the right amount of suspense and tension into her voice as needed.
