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courtthebookgirl 's review for:
The Five Year Lie
by Sarina Bowen
This was a really excellent mystery that kept me interested on audiobook these past few weeks on my drives to and from work!
The story centers around a video doorbell company (a la Ring) where the CEO has somewhat recently died of an overdose and his daughter Ariel (our main character) is also reeling from her boyfriend Drew leaving mysteriously and then also dying unexpectedly. But when a mysterious text message arrives on Ariel’s phone, it upends everything she thought she knew. This leads to an adventure where we stumble across privacy violations, drug dealers, and more mayhem than you can shake a stick at.
I really enjoyed listening to this story and seeing how it unfolded. I really loved Ariel and her son Buzz, and I also enjoyed hearing what happened five years ago when she met Drew (and right around the time he went missing). I felt that the story was pretty plausible (and a little Big Brother-esque: you never know who is watching) and there were moments that gave me cold chills.
I also think Bowen nailed what it’s like to parent a 4 year old. Her bus trip with Buzz (I’ll leave it vague) felt very authentic to me and I even cried at one part in that scene. It all felt very real.
I quibble a teensy tiny bit with one plot point that felt a little too “easy,” but in the end, it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment. I found this book really engaging and interesting and I definitely wanted to know where it was going.
I also loved the ancillary characters - so many of them gave the story a little kick in the pants.
I see Bowen typically writes romance, so I hope this isn’t her last thriller! I’d definitely read another. 4.5 stars.
The story centers around a video doorbell company (a la Ring) where the CEO has somewhat recently died of an overdose and his daughter Ariel (our main character) is also reeling from her boyfriend Drew leaving mysteriously and then also dying unexpectedly. But when a mysterious text message arrives on Ariel’s phone, it upends everything she thought she knew. This leads to an adventure where we stumble across privacy violations, drug dealers, and more mayhem than you can shake a stick at.
I really enjoyed listening to this story and seeing how it unfolded. I really loved Ariel and her son Buzz, and I also enjoyed hearing what happened five years ago when she met Drew (and right around the time he went missing). I felt that the story was pretty plausible (and a little Big Brother-esque: you never know who is watching) and there were moments that gave me cold chills.
I also think Bowen nailed what it’s like to parent a 4 year old. Her bus trip with Buzz (I’ll leave it vague) felt very authentic to me and I even cried at one part in that scene. It all felt very real.
I quibble a teensy tiny bit with one plot point that felt a little too “easy,” but in the end, it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment. I found this book really engaging and interesting and I definitely wanted to know where it was going.
I also loved the ancillary characters - so many of them gave the story a little kick in the pants.
I see Bowen typically writes romance, so I hope this isn’t her last thriller! I’d definitely read another. 4.5 stars.