Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on
Wow! I now understand all the hype. I started this book, and had to force myself to put it down for food and bathroom breaks. It was quite a thrilling and suspenseful trip.
One of my favorite things about this story is the way Haas let it unfold. It is told in a non-linear way, which only added to the mounting tension and doubt. I thought it was rather brilliant the way Haas jumped around, yet kept a single thread there to show how these part were interconnected. So, although we were moving between different time periods, the story still had a natural flow.
These jumps also gave us interesting insight into the various characters. Presenting them out of sequence allowed us to believe A, B, or C were the culprit, and then later some doubt would be created due to some other event.
Not only were my emotions toyed with as I tried to guess whodunit, they were also stirred by the emotions the characters were experiencing. There was all this raw emotion that jumped off the page, and there were many times where I felt like I was truly in Anna's head and experiencing everything with her.
Aside from this being a masterfully told thriller, we also had some high school drama woven in there, along with some interesting thoughts about the judicial system for an American in a foreign country, and the role of the media in a trial.
Overall: A fantastic reading experience, which I have zero regrets about. I am so happy to have finally read this book, that I have seen on so many Top Ten Tuesday lists, and now I finally understand why it gets so many mentions.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 15 July, 2017: Finished reading
- 15 July, 2017: Reviewed