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A review by meghancolbert
Northern Spy by Flynn Berry
Did not finish book. Stopped at 36%.
I was hooked at first. I was willing to suspend my disbelief that a convenience store robber waited until she was standing directly in front of a security camera to put her mask on. However…
I don’t love the use of present tense narration in any adult novel, because it’s very YA. This book is written at an 8th grade level, which is weird considering that the first person narrator is a 30+ year old woman, but ok. I’m more upset that the editor didn’t see anything wrong with bizarre similes such as “my body tightens in the cold water, like a loose screw” and anatomical impossibilities such as “Marian bites her top lip between her teeth.”
Why is Tessa so apathetic about her husband’s infidelity? She tells us that she felt pain when she discovered the lip balm in the car, but doesn’t seem bothered by the fact that she gave birth only seven months afterwards and now has to split custody with her ex while also adjusting to new motherhood. That’s an incredibly shitty situation and I find it hard to believe anyone would just gloss over that and move on with their life.
Why would Marian spill all her secrets to Tessa, not knowing what Tessa would do with that information? Why did she suddenly decide to trust Tessa after 7 years? Why did she become an informer when she loved her unit members? Her motivations are unclear and her behavior doesn’t make sense.
I don’t love the use of present tense narration in any adult novel, because it’s very YA. This book is written at an 8th grade level, which is weird considering that the first person narrator is a 30+ year old woman, but ok. I’m more upset that the editor didn’t see anything wrong with bizarre similes such as “my body tightens in the cold water, like a loose screw” and anatomical impossibilities such as “Marian bites her top lip between her teeth.”
Why is Tessa so apathetic about her husband’s infidelity? She tells us that she felt pain when she discovered the lip balm in the car, but doesn’t seem bothered by the fact that she gave birth only seven months afterwards and now has to split custody with her ex while also adjusting to new motherhood. That’s an incredibly shitty situation and I find it hard to believe anyone would just gloss over that and move on with their life.
Why would Marian spill all her secrets to Tessa, not knowing what Tessa would do with that information? Why did she suddenly decide to trust Tessa after 7 years? Why did she become an informer when she loved her unit members? Her motivations are unclear and her behavior doesn’t make sense.