Description:
She was never mine to lose...When Scarlett falls asleep on a Caribbean beach she awakes to her worst nightmare – Katie is gone. With all fingers pointed to her Scarlett must risk everything to clear her name. As Scarlett begins to unravel the complicated past of Katie's mother she begins to think there's more to Katie's disappearance than meets the eye. But who would want to steal a child? And how did no-one see anything on the small island? Time is running out and Scarlett is certain of only one thing – she didn't kill Katie. Did she?
Review: 3 Stars
The plot of this book starts right away and you find yourself turning pages quickly. Damien seems slimy to start with. The initial impressions are lasting and it seems strange how Scarlett takes many liberties with Christina. I find it hard to believe that an employer would so easily let an employee use her belongings and have access to her phone. The other thing that caught my attention was Christina asking Scarlett to drink one cocktail and ‘live a little’. If a child’s nanny is refusing a drink, as a parent why would anyone insist they have one?! Struck me as odd. And then suddenly you get thrown in to 1997 via a photograph and learn about Lara and Gabrielle. This just adds to the mystery because you have no idea who Lara is or who Gabriel is and how they are connected to Scarlett or Christina or Damien for that matter. As the story moves along the readers get introduced to more photos and glimpses in to Lara and Gabrielle’s relationship. That is an interesting dynamic to read about and you wonder where these 2 stories are heading, wonder how they are going to some how collide in to one another and create a train wreck you can’t turn your eyes away from. Additionally there are many strange and surprising tidbits in Scarlett’s narration that continue to keep the reader riveted. The way the story is told made me want to draw parallels between Lara and Christina all along. There was a sudden spark in my brain when I read Katie’s full name. There are many instances that allude to Lara’s and Gabrielle’s connection and by the 50% mark I was convinced I had it figured out. By 55% I was sure of who must’ve taken Katie but the how and the suspense of will she come back kept me going. While I was sympathetic to Lara in the beginning as the plot unveiled I felt like Lara made some very poor choices too. She had shades of Gabrielle in her who may have been psychotic but Lara herself did not uphold a very high moral code. Scarlett is a painted as a confusing character too and it is unclear what her role actually is, if any, in the abduction. While this was an enjoyable read it was predictable post the 50% mark. The twist at the end too was predictable. Given that everything Is pretty much clear half way through the book, I would have found it more enjoyable if the second half was shorter and crisper. But then this is a debut novel so we have to cut the author some slack with the editing.
The writing style was engaging and I would definitely read more books by this author.
For fans of the genre this will be like just another thriller that they can figure out pretty quickly.
Thank you NetGalley and Aria for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley, #ShesMine
