Very rarely does an author manage to pull-off a genuinely good twist in the final chapter, in a way that doesn’t feel forced or cheap. My hat off to you, Nita. That aside, there are some major issues with the way characters act in this novel. The clearly neurodivergent protagonist’s inability to read social cues waxes and wanes to suit the plot. The villains are petty and cruel in a very obvious way, that makes the book feel like it was written at least three decades ago. The grandmother’s assisted suicide seemed very unnecessarily violent and out of place. Why a nice old lady who choose to traumatise her granddaughter during her last moments is beyond comprehension, considering the much less dramatic and painful alternatives. Also, the rich white lawyer lady swooping in mid narrative to save the bumbling autistic maid and drug mule-ed illegal Mexican immigrant left a bad taste in my mouth. Overall, a fun easy read, but with some major thematic caveats.
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, and Drug abuse