In Brooklyn, Val waits for her soon-to-be ex-husband, Evan, to pick up their daughter, Brianne, for their Adirondacks excursion, along with his new fiancee. When Evan phones to say he's been delayed, he asks Val to drive Brianne to the hotel. Val secretly hopes to learn more about his relationship with his fiancee and to keep their daughter from forming too close a bond with the younger woman who might be her replacement. After Evan confirms he is tied up at work, Val decides they'll all go camping and manages to persuade her reluctant companions. No one is yet aware of the brutal murders that have taken place only a few miles away. Eventually campers and killers collide, secrets are revealed, and lives are changed forever.
I’ve enjoyed Joy Fielding in the past, but this book didn’t do anything for me. The situation that sends this unconventional group into the woods is extremely contrived, and once I couldn’t buy into that, I had a hard time buying into anything else. I also got confused about which teens were actually the killers, and once I finished I wasn’t entirely sure if the confusion was intentional. There are a lot of spoiled brats in this book, which kept me from connecting with any of the characters, even Valerie. There are much better Joy Fielding books out there, such as Charley’s Web.
