"This is story of three best friends: one who was murdered, one who went to prison, and one who's been searching for the truth all these years . . . When she was sixteen years old, Angela Wong--one of the most popular girls in school--disappeared without a trace. Nobody ever suspected that her best friend, Georgina Shaw, now an executive and rising star at her Seattle pharmaceutical company, was involved in any way. Certainly not Kaiser Brody, who was close with both girls back in high school. But fourteen years later, Angela Wong's remains are discovered in the woods near Geo's childhood home. And Kaiser--now a detective with Seattle PD--finally learns the truth: Angela was a victim of Calvin James. The same Calvin James who murdered at least three other women. To the authorities, Calvin is a serial killer. But to Geo, he's something else entirely. Back in high school, Calvin was Geo's first love. Turbulent and often volatile, their relationship bordered on obsession from the moment they met right up until the night Angela was killed. For fourteen years, Geo knew what happened to Angela and told no one. For fourteen years, she carried the secret of Angela's death until Geo was arrested and sent to prison. While everyone thinks they finally know the truth, there are dark secrets buried deep. And what happened that fateful night is more complex and more chilling than anyone really knows. Now the obsessive past catches up with the deadly present when new bodies begin to turn up, killed in the exact same manner as Angela Wong. How far will someone go to bury her secrets and hide her grief? How long can you get away with a lie? How long can you live with it?"--
A | I usually don't start reviews like this but I feel the need to warn any potential readers of what you'll see in this book, especially since I know a number of people who are reading this for Wikathon.
This book is not for the faint of heart. It's not for people looking for a warm, fuzzy, and cozy mystery/thriller. No. This book is brutal and gut-wrenching. It doesn't hold back at all. There is abuse, violence against women, murder, and multiple rape scenes. Please remember to take care of your own mental health.
Now, I enjoyed the book a lot. From the start, the book gripped me and refused to let me go. I know. I got through the book so fast. I sort of wished I used Bookly to find out exactly how many hours it took me to read the book. But I just couldn't stop. Had it not been for the fact I was determined to play video games last night, I would have finished this book in one sitting. It's that good.
But you know what? Despite the fact that I enjoyed it, the book unsettled me, specifically because of the rape scenes. I was not at all prepared for this, especially because none of the reviews I saw mentioned them. I think what's making it worse to the point it's lingering is the fact that the scenes were so raw and brutal.
Still, I would absolutely recommend this book to those who can handle reading this. It's a good book. Even though we know what happens to Angela in the end, it's learning about what lead to her death and the immediate events after that kept me going. It was also the mystery of those dead women and their kids. Even though I ended up guessing the twist at the end, Jennifer still managed to surprise me.
Again, give this book a shot if you are okay with the above warnings because it is absolutely worth picking up.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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6 August, 2020:
Finished reading
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6 August, 2020:
Reviewed