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A review by withfeathers
The Next Time You See Me by Holly Goddard Jones
3.0
Not gonna lie, I picked this up because it had a Gillian Flynn quote on the cover and a blurb comparing it to Gone Girl. In that respect, I guess I got disappointed. Yes, it's a murder-mystery with somewhat complex female characters written by a woman but if that's your standard for comparison... this definitely isn't a proper thriller in the way Gone Girl is, it has none of the drama or flair and it's not really about exploring the dark sides of the female psyche either.
I still liked it overall, although the plot was a bit slow to pick up (I definitely enjoyed the last third most) and at times I felt like the author was exaggerating the multiple pov's thing a bit (there's over a dozen characters narrating at some point, I'd wager, it's a bit much). But the main characters - especially Emily, Susanna, Sarah and Tony and also the glimpses we got of Ronnie, the character who's disappearance this all centers around - were very well drawn, in human, complex and contradictory ways. The author doesn't gloss over the ugly, petty or mundane aspects of small town life and she's at her best when examining the ways all these people struggle with the boundaries and disappointments of small-town life. The ending is satisfying too.
I still liked it overall, although the plot was a bit slow to pick up (I definitely enjoyed the last third most) and at times I felt like the author was exaggerating the multiple pov's thing a bit (there's over a dozen characters narrating at some point, I'd wager, it's a bit much). But the main characters - especially Emily, Susanna, Sarah and Tony and also the glimpses we got of Ronnie, the character who's disappearance this all centers around - were very well drawn, in human, complex and contradictory ways. The author doesn't gloss over the ugly, petty or mundane aspects of small town life and she's at her best when examining the ways all these people struggle with the boundaries and disappointments of small-town life. The ending is satisfying too.