Scan barcode
A review by brooke_review
Are You Sara? by S.C. Lalli
3.0
S.C. Lalli's debut novel Are You Sara? is a book I was really excited about on initial premise alone. If you have ever utilized a rideshare, you know that the driver asks you upon entering the car to verify your identity. But what happens when two girls with the same name call for a ride at the same location at the same time?
When the rideshare driver asks Sara Bhaduri, "Are you Sara?," upon picking her up at the bar where she works, she of course answers "yes," because she IS Sara; but as it turns out, she is the wrong Sara. This ride was meant for Sara Ellis, a girl that Sara found passed out drunk in the bar's bathroom and subsequently helped get a car home.
Sara Bhaduri, an exhausted law student working two jobs to make ends meet, falls asleep on the ride to her apartment and doesn't realize the mistake until she reaches her destination and discovers she is in the ritzy part of town, not the rundown, crime-riddled neighborhood where she lives. Once she makes her way home, she finds that the other Sara has been brutally murdered at her apartment. Sara wonders in horror - was this supposed to be her fate?
With her life potentially at stake, she has to find out if the killer was stalking her or Sara Ellis, so she embroils herself into an investigation of Sara Ellis' life and relationships. However, as she uncovers more and more of Sara Ellis' secrets, she discovers that it is not so easy to keep her own skeletons in the closet.
Are You Sara? is one of those novels that I like to describe as a mixed bag. There's a lot here to weave a compelling story around, and this book starts off quite strongly. I was super invested until characters from Sara Bhaduri's past come into play, and we learn that everything may not be as it seems. Normally, I enjoy a good twist, especially one that plays on a person's character and integrity, but here it felt out of place and underdeveloped. Furthermore, Sara Bhaduri is completely unlikeable and frustrating. That would normally not be a major problem for me, except I had trouble finding anything redeeming or even remotely intriguing about her. Instead, she came off like a slick chameleon, changing her core values and personality to suit the situation.
When the rideshare driver asks Sara Bhaduri, "Are you Sara?," upon picking her up at the bar where she works, she of course answers "yes," because she IS Sara; but as it turns out, she is the wrong Sara. This ride was meant for Sara Ellis, a girl that Sara found passed out drunk in the bar's bathroom and subsequently helped get a car home.
Sara Bhaduri, an exhausted law student working two jobs to make ends meet, falls asleep on the ride to her apartment and doesn't realize the mistake until she reaches her destination and discovers she is in the ritzy part of town, not the rundown, crime-riddled neighborhood where she lives. Once she makes her way home, she finds that the other Sara has been brutally murdered at her apartment. Sara wonders in horror - was this supposed to be her fate?
With her life potentially at stake, she has to find out if the killer was stalking her or Sara Ellis, so she embroils herself into an investigation of Sara Ellis' life and relationships. However, as she uncovers more and more of Sara Ellis' secrets, she discovers that it is not so easy to keep her own skeletons in the closet.
Are You Sara? is one of those novels that I like to describe as a mixed bag. There's a lot here to weave a compelling story around, and this book starts off quite strongly. I was super invested until characters from Sara Bhaduri's past come into play, and we learn that everything may not be as it seems. Normally, I enjoy a good twist, especially one that plays on a person's character and integrity, but here it felt out of place and underdeveloped. Furthermore, Sara Bhaduri is completely unlikeable and frustrating. That would normally not be a major problem for me, except I had trouble finding anything redeeming or even remotely intriguing about her. Instead, she came off like a slick chameleon, changing her core values and personality to suit the situation.