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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I loved this! And it was his debut novel, so impressive.
The cult vibes were excellent, and I loved the relationship dynamics.
There were quite a lot of characters, so they didn't all seem too fleshed out but thats understandable.
I have two more of his books, and now I can't wait to read them!
The cult vibes were excellent, and I loved the relationship dynamics.
There were quite a lot of characters, so they didn't all seem too fleshed out but thats understandable.
I have two more of his books, and now I can't wait to read them!
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4.5 stars! I thoroughly enjoyed this story, much more than I thought I would. The alternating of the past and present stories set in both Melbourne and the US were equally as engaging and the way the author threaded them together was quite amazing. The ending was well executed and I was literally taken by surprise. The author did a great job of moving the story forward at a decent pace to keep you wanting more. I almost forgot the author was male as he did get his female characters down pat. To find out this book is Christian White’s debut is impressive and he will definitely be a name to look out for in future.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hatchette Australia for my review copy.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hatchette Australia for my review copy.
The start was gripping, however the whole storyline about God, the Devil and taking the Devil out of you let it all down. Im glad she was saved from all that. Im glad there was a happy ending. The storyline with the Devil let the book down for me.
Kim, the main character, is approached by a complete stranger & told that she is the abducted child of a couple living in the United States (Kim is in Australia). Stuart, the stranger in question, sits with Kim for all of 5 minutes & somehow convinces her to accompany him back to the U.S. so that the unsolved kidnapping might be put to rest. The first couple chapters of the story hold the entirety of the reveals the reader will be privy to. I kept waiting for something more from the story. It felt as though we were reading in the hopes of making our way to a bigger reveal, as dictated by the tone, yet we were given nothing further.
If a stranger came to me at my place of work & told me that I was most probably the victim of a kidnapping, that I was their biological sibling & that they had stolen my DNA to prove their theory, I would not jump at the opportunity to follow them to a foreign country.
There was nothing in Kim’s lived reality that would have led her to need to believe this story. By this I mean, she had no physical distinguishing factors which drastically separated her from the other members of her family, for example. When Kim decides to confront her family, none of their reactions make sense.
Amy tells her that they would have no reason to maintain a relationship should it be proven that they are not biological sisters. What does that even mean? Let us not forget that you have been raised with this person, & you have held a close relationship throughout the entirety of your lives & yet, you vocalize not wanting to uphold that should they not be biologically related to you.
When Kim’s step-father, Dean, does not outwardly react how she expects him to, she assumes that he knew that her mother, Carol, was a participant in the abduction of Sammy Went. I see no reason to invalidate Dean’s reaction. He had a right to be shocked by the events; his daughter came to him with accusations of kidnapping & criminal behaviour without giving her parents the benefit of the doubt. Kim is a grown adult & never once stops to think about the impact of what she is asking of her parent.
This same grown adult leaves the country without telling anyone, to meet with a stranger. This is unsafe & ignorant. I understand that her actions are what drives the plot forward but we have already been told the entirety of the twists up until this point. Her travelling to the United States is for her to drive around & meet biological family members, again without her putting any effort into critical thinking before acting.
What was the point in having Kim think that Carol was her biological parent but that Dean was her stepfather? Was there really going to be an instance (save Amy needing an organ or something of the sort) where this would come into play? Dean being Patrick, the person who aided Becky in keeping Sammy Went’s abduction a secret, was enough. We didn’t need the story to then take another turn & have Dean be a step-parent. What was the actual purpose of that? It simply felt as though we were seeking to alienate Kim from the family that raised her.
Why not have told her that they were both biological parents to her? She would not have known the difference, she was two (2). Instead, they develop this intricate story to remind her that she wasn’t really ‘part’ of the family. Even if we look at her having a lack of baby pictures prior to age 2, they could have told her there was a flood in the basement home or something—anything—but they chose to go the route of exclusion.
By the end of the story, I was tired. I kept asking myself why something was happening the way that it was & why that appealed to the author as something that made sense to have happened. For example, the dialogue in which Emma speaks far surpasses the age at which she is while the bulk of the story takes place. She sounds like she’s 25 instead of 13.
An example of this is the scene in which Jack goes to the church to find Molly. At no point was it relevant for Emma to have come along to the church, with Jack, & it wasn’t relevant for Jack to share his ‘exorcism’ story with his daughter who was very obviously already traumatized by the fact that her sibling was abducted. This is, again, a 13-year-old child. Why would you have brought them along during your ravenous anger rampage, to a church full of people doing what you know to be abusive things, to find her parent whom you are concerned might have been responsible for killing your child? Where is the logic here?
The inclusion of secret homosexual relationships which put both parties at the centre of the accused isn’t cool & I say this because this is the second book of White’s that I’ve read & the second time this is utilized in his plots. I understand in time & place, certain non-cis relationships are viewed as being inappropriate etc. but, it feels unfair for it to repeatedly be the people who are already targeted in real life, to remain the targets of fictional stories—which did not need to have homosexual relationships be the pivoting drive.
To have had two women deal with traumas relating to conception, loss & carrying to terms of children was a delicate rope to tread & had White taken a bit more care we could have had an astounding story. Instead, we read about it for a hot second & then it’s over.
I could have told you that Molly was experiencing Postpartum Depression (PPD) in the early stages of the story & that once Becky was introduced as having had intercourse with Patrick, something more would come to link these two together. We focus on homosexual ‘secret’ relationships, a church that abuses animals & Kim, for 300 pages only to have a few pages at the end reveal that bad things happened to people & those around them don’t always take notice.
A great book set in Australia and US. A missing girl years ago from a small US small town. A photographer in Australia who is told she is that missing girl.
Her story takes her on a journey to the small US town to uncover if this was really her hometown and to find out what happened.
Engrossing with twists and turns and a few strange characters.
I really enjoyed this - a great thriller and a page turner which takes you away to a community hiding lots of secrets.
I have this 4 stars. Would recommend for anyone who likes a good thriller.
Her story takes her on a journey to the small US town to uncover if this was really her hometown and to find out what happened.
Engrossing with twists and turns and a few strange characters.
I really enjoyed this - a great thriller and a page turner which takes you away to a community hiding lots of secrets.
I have this 4 stars. Would recommend for anyone who likes a good thriller.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book deserves better than the 3 stars I've given it. It deserved better than the editing it (didn't) receive before it went to print. The adverbs almost killed me.