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A review by soundarya
Complicit by Amy Rivers
2.0
NOTE: Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
TW: The book revolves around themes of sexual assault and trafficking of minors.
Complicit is set in a town in New Mexico, where the protagonist, Kate Medina, is employed as a high-school counsellor. The story starts off with the disappearance of a student, Gabby Greene. What follows is a dark, complicated web that reveals troubling truths about the community and the trafficking ring at the heart of it.
The set-up was well done; it established several important plot points regarding Kate's family dynamic, her relationship with her best-friend-turned-stranger-turned-love-interest Roman and the fishy circumstances surrounding the disappearances of girls in the town.
However as the book progressed, it started falling flat. Firstly, I couldn't buy why Kate was so heavily involved in the investigation, especially in the early parts when she wasn't contributing much. It felt a little unrealistic for Roman to confide in her this much about confidential matters.
Secondly, I didn't really care about the characters. Sure, I got to know what they went through but that never translated into me getting to know who they were. They were just means to further the plot and there was never a point when I was rooting for them or their relationships. The love triangle felt like it had just been written in for the heck of it.
Towards the end, a lot was thrown at the reader but never addressed comprehensively. It was too much to process at once and left me with a lot of unanswered questions. But seeing that this is the first book in the series, I hope that the second one gives the reader better answers.
However, I must appreciate that despite its flaws, Complicit handles these sensitive topics and I liked how. I also thought that the writing itself was engaging and made me want to read on despite me not buying certain aspects of the plot.
TW: The book revolves around themes of sexual assault and trafficking of minors.
Complicit is set in a town in New Mexico, where the protagonist, Kate Medina, is employed as a high-school counsellor. The story starts off with the disappearance of a student, Gabby Greene. What follows is a dark, complicated web that reveals troubling truths about the community and the trafficking ring at the heart of it.
The set-up was well done; it established several important plot points regarding Kate's family dynamic, her relationship with her best-friend-turned-stranger-turned-love-interest Roman and the fishy circumstances surrounding the disappearances of girls in the town.
However as the book progressed, it started falling flat. Firstly, I couldn't buy why Kate was so heavily involved in the investigation, especially in the early parts when she wasn't contributing much. It felt a little unrealistic for Roman to confide in her this much about confidential matters.
Secondly, I didn't really care about the characters. Sure, I got to know what they went through but that never translated into me getting to know who they were. They were just means to further the plot and there was never a point when I was rooting for them or their relationships. The love triangle felt like it had just been written in for the heck of it.
Towards the end, a lot was thrown at the reader but never addressed comprehensively. It was too much to process at once and left me with a lot of unanswered questions. But seeing that this is the first book in the series, I hope that the second one gives the reader better answers.
However, I must appreciate that despite its flaws, Complicit handles these sensitive topics and I liked how