Publisher: William Morrow
Published: October 12, 2021
Source: ARC E-copy via Publisher
Summary:
A smart, witty, crackling novel of psychological suspense in which a girl from a hardscrabble small town meets a gorgeous Instagram influencer from the big city, with a murderous twist that will shock even the most savvy reader.
On a beautiful October morning in rural Maine, a homicide investigator from the big city pulls into the hard-luck town of Copper Falls. The local junkyard is burning, and the town pariah Lizzie Oullette is dead—with her husband, Dwayne, nowhere to be found. As scandal ripples through the community, Detective Ian Bird’s inquiries unexpectedly lead him away from small-town Maine to a swank city townhouse several hours south. Adrienne Richards, blonde and fabulous social media influencer and wife of a disgraced billionaire, had been renting Lizzie’s tiny lake house as a country getaway…even though Copper Falls is anything but a resort town.
As Adrienne’s connection to the case becomes clear, so too does her connection to Lizzie, who narrates their story from beyond the grave. Each woman is desperately lonely in her own way, and they navigate a relationship that cuts across class boundaries: transactional, complicated, and, finally, deadly. A Gone Girl for the gig economy, this is a story of privilege, identity, and cunning, as two devious women from opposite worlds discover the dangers of coveting someone else’s life.
My thoughts:
When you read as many thrillers as I do, finding that one that stands out is gold and that is exactly what this debut novel is here. There have been a slew of debuts out lately that I have loved, but this one really takes the cake for just how original it is.
Right from the start, I was pulled into this one and that feeling never let up. I totally binge-read this one and loved every second of it. The writing is so sharp and witty and I loved that some of it is talking directly to the reader – I find those inside conversations to be so insightful. But this time, it really puts you on edge because you just aren’t quite sure what to expect.
The story alternates between three points of view and the characters are so dynamic. Added to that is the pacing, which really is on point and you have quite an engaging read that just begs you to keep flipping those pages. The twists are shocking and I for one definitely did not see them coming! There is nothing here for the sake of a thrill, all is perfectly plotted and it all comes together quite brilliantly.
I’m really keeping this quite vague as I think you need to go into this one as blind as possible. It definitely is such a great read and I know I will for sure be keeping an eye out for what comes next from this very talented author!
