Sadie and Will Foust have recently relocated from their Chicago home to that of his deceased sister Alice’s in coastal Maine. The reason for their sudden move is a little murky and Alice’s house is more than a little creepy considering that she committed suicide in the attic and left behind sullen teenage daughter Imogen. Sadie is a doctor and Will is a teacher and they’re the parents of two sons, 14-year old Otto and 7-year old Tate. They’re making the best of things until their next door neighbor is found murdered in her bedroom by her 6-year old stepdaughter. That causes lots of fear on the island, particularly so for Sadie who comes under scrutiny.
As soon as I saw this title I added it to my shelf, not only because I’m a fan of the author but what it seemed to imply. There are three main narrators but Sadie’s is the primary voice telling the story. I’m used to Kubica creating unreliable narrators and it didn’t take long for Sadie to get added to that list. Everything about this story is weird and creepy, that vibe created almost totally through her eyes. I spent most of my time trying to make sense of what I was hearing, and that alone was a challenge, in a good way. It’s not always linear storytelling with Sadie’s past juxtaposed with the present. It provides meaningful context while at the same time muddling the situations.
I opted to listen to this one as I am prone to do with psychological thrillers. What made the performances special, particularly Sadie’s, is that it’s done in tandem with how things are slowly (and I mean slowly) revealed. She gives NOTHING away so you’re left to your own deductive skills. I guessed early on the probable situation and that lessened the impact of the big reveal. But there were other surprises I hadn’t foreseen that gave me some of that shock impact. One of the narrators shows up late in the story and it was deliciously good, both the performance and the tale. While I didn’t love the story, I liked it a lot and highly recommend it. This would be a perfect selection for a group read or book club as there are so many elements for discussion.
Book Info
- Release Date: February 18, 2020
- Narrators: Piper Goodeve & Jeremy Arthur
- Audio Length: 11 hours, 52 minutes
- Publisher: Harlequin Audio
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(Thanks to Harlequin Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)
Blue Mood Café 
I did enjoy this one and it kept me totally engaged. I am glad you did enjoy the story even though you didn’t love it. Terrific review, Jonetta!
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Thank you, Marialyce💜 It didn’t help that I figured things out so early, otherwise this would have had a big check in the “love” column. I’m glad you enjoyed it, too.
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This sounds great. I will check it out! 💙
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I so hope you do, Lindsay💜 It’s such a mind bender.
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Sometimes, self-deduction by reader can be a curse, Jonetta. 😛 Glad that you still liked the book. Terrific review, once more.
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Thank you, Debjani💜 Sometimes my guessing early doesn’t interfere but it got in the way a little bit on this one.
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I don’t know if I would like this one or not. I’m not always fond of unreliable narrators. Wonderful review!
Anne – Books of My Heart
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Thank you, Anne💜 If you’re not a fan of that device, this might not work for you. But! It kind of works here and I wish I could say more but it would be spoilerish. Still a strong story.
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I’m iffy on unreliable narrators but I may give it a try if my library has it. Good review1
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Thank you, Bea💜 Unreliable narrators are a staple of this author and so obvious early on. This would be a good one to try if you can get it from the library.
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I’ve not tried anything by this author yet but I would definitely like to. Her books always sound so good. If I try this one, I think I’ll go the audio route as well. I really like listening to thrillers for some reason.
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This is my third by Kubica and all are consistently thought provoking and mind gnarly. In each, you just couldn’t trust the narrator, which I like. No one does that better. And, I’ve listened to all three.
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Great review Jonetta, I am not a big fan of Ms. Kubica, but I think I might try and find this one on audiobook.
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Thank you, Carla💜 Her psychological thrillers can be mind numbing sometimes, which is why I prefer her books on audio.
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I can get this one on Hoopla.
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