Publisher: Berkley Books
Published: September 14, 2021
Source: E-copy via Netgalley /Publisher
Summary:
Paloma thought her perfect life would begin once she was adopted and made it to America, but she’s about to find out that no matter how far you run, your past always catches up to you…
Ever since she was adopted from a Sri Lankan orphanage, Paloma has had the best of everything—schools, money, and parents so perfect that she fears she’ll never live up to them.
Now at thirty years old and recently cut off from her parents’ funds, she decides to sublet the second bedroom of her overpriced San Francisco apartment to Arun, who recently moved from India. Paloma has to admit, it feels good helping someone find their way in America—that is until Arun discovers Paloma’s darkest secret, one that could jeopardize her own fragile place in this country.
Before Paloma can pay Arun off, she finds him face down in a pool of blood. She flees the apartment but by the time the police arrive, there’s no body—and no evidence that Arun ever even existed in the first place.
Paloma is terrified this is all somehow tangled up in the desperate actions she took to escape Sri Lanka so many years ago. Did Paloma’s secret die with Arun or is she now in greater danger than ever before?
My thoughts:
Reading debut novels is my favorite because you have no expectations of the author other than hoping for a good story. Well…I’m so happy to say that Amanda Jayatissa knocked it out of the park with this dark, twisty thriller and I could not be more excited for her!
Told using a dual narrative, the story moves back and forth from San Francisco in the present to an orphanage in Sri Lanka in the past. It kept me on my toes throughout, and while there are a few things I did figure out, I was still left in shock with twists that I definitely did not see coming. I loved every second of it, especially how atmospheric and creepy it felt at times. I think this is the first book I’ve read that is set in Sri Lanka and I loved the inclusion of the Sri Lankan folklore through the ghost story.
I loved that there is that sense of unreliability with our narrator and that you just aren’t sure who or what to trust throughout. That is one of my favorite tropes in thrillers and it really works quite well here. It’s such a unique, original story and pulled me right in.
I’m hesitant to say too much more for fear of giving anything away, so I’ll just leave it at this…I completely binge-read this book. The writing is sharp and addicting and I highly recommend picking this one up! And I for sure will be keeping an eye out for what comes next from this uber talented author!
