I’ll be the first person to tell you that I don’t spend a lot of time reading thriller books. There is just a certain level of “Oh hellll no” that runs through my blood which makes it hard for me to settle into the story and enjoy it. However, I’ve already read a couple of Tarryn Fisher’s books and you never really know where the story is going. It’s always like watching an accident happen. You just can’t look away even though everything in you is saying “there ain’t no way…”
That being said, my reviews on any thrillers are going to come with a bonus of my thoughts while reading the books. No worries, I’ll put up spoiler warnings around them so if you want to skip them until you’ve read the book, you can.
Let’s get into it.
Robyn Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Goodreads
Storygraph
Plot: Rainy is an artist who moved from NYC to Washington for love. Grant has this established group of friends that he pushes her to try to get closer to. Rainy reluctantly agrees to their gatherings until a girls’ trip to Vegas comes up. She refuses but later finds out that Grant already purchased her ticket.
The story is told in a now-and-then format. We learn through flashbacks about Rainy’s past and the dangerous secrets that lie there. When her past catches up to her in Vegas, Rainy has to get creative to save herself and another.
In the first few pages, you get settled into the story. The characters are introduced and I spent a fair amount of time lamenting the fact that I was reading middle age women’s issues and dreading it. Nothing like a reality check in a fictional book. Then it picks up, and it was like a marathon race to unravel all the pieces of Rainy’s past and why they matter 20 years later.
I think that this story could have been shorter. The chapters from the past are where all the drama is in the first half of the book and then in the end everything catches up to Rainy and it gets overly chaotic in the end.
Characters: I couldn’t relate with any of the characters honestly but I do understand how a mother’s decisions in a critical moment can affect the daughter’s life. From both sides. So that is what I am choosing to take from this book. As a mother, I have had to make some hard decisions in these last couple of years and I often wonder and worry about how my decisions will affect my children right now and as adults. As a daughter, I have been confronted with the consequences of decisions my mother made when I was a child. I always tell my kids that there are consequences to every decision they make. I feel that it is my job to make sure that they learn to stop and think things through so that they can be prepared for anything. Including the things we didn’t think could happen or never dreamed would happen. Someone should have had this conversation with Rainy’s mother because I spent some time very upset with her while reading this one.
Oh and Grant’s friends, overall as a group, suck. I would not want to be friends with any of them.
Thoughts while reading:
- Omg am I really old enough for middle age women problems. Eww.
- What exactly happened in Nevada?
- Did this woman just join a cult with her daughter?? Can I even read this?
- whatever Rainy isn’t telling Grant needs to be talked about. It’s obviously heavy and she’s going to continuously be put in uncomfortable situations if she doesn’t just come clean.
- This woman joined a cult with her daughter and is now bothered by the way it’s changed her daughter. 😒😒 what did you expect? She’s surprised the cult has turned her daughter against her.
- Summer journals her thoughts and sends them to Taured. Wow. Just wow on so many levels.
- Trigger warning: rape description.
- Sooo human trafficking? Underage girls.
- This is so tense. I’m reading this like I’m watching a train wreck. Whatever is happening is horrible but I need to know how she escaped.
- Why haven’t I read this before? Im so sucked into this story. Although this whole Braithe thing is a bit weird. Hopefully it wraps up soon.
- Are we really having a “The Boy is Mine” conversation while being kidnapped? We’ve got bigger fish to fry. Wtf.
- Oh okay it’s like a dying confession. I guess.
- Wait a fucking minute. She sent that email to fucking Taured???? What about the police??? You called out to another monster for help? A monster you narrowly escaped?
- Oooh okay well played.
Happy Reading!
Robyn
Reading Robyn 