*SPOILERS AHEAD*
While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends met a captivating man who seduced them with a web of lies about the way the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay’s built a new life in a tiny Texas suburb. But when she hears the horrifying news of Laurel’s death—delivered, of all ways, by her favorite true-crime podcast crusader—she begins to suspect that the past she thought she buried is still very much alive, and the predators more dangerous than ever.
I liked Shay as our main character. I thought she was multifaceted and not the most likeable character which makes her more interesting to me. She absolutely has her demons and even though she tries her best not to succumb it still almost takes over her. I feel as though Jamie didn’t really serve any function other than a way for Shay to tell her story. He didn’t contribute much else to the story and I didn’t really connect with his character at all.
I liked the dual timelines, it gave us a lot of insight into the girls state of mind at the time and the bond that they have that is the main motivator for Shay to come back and fling herself back into the life she has been running from all these years.
All the different names and aliases was kind of hard to keep track of and it was very fast paced so I was never really given time to let everything that’s happening and the various twists that occur throughout the plot sink in. This is a very dark book and I would for sure look up any trigger warnings before you pick it up. I like how macabre it ends up being as the shock and gore kind of elevates the story from being another run of the mill mystery/thriller.
⭐️3/5 stars Shocking, dark and twisted!
