This book!!! This story!! So good!! I was swept up in the intensity of the search for Allison and what happened to her. This is such a great one!

| BOOK REVIEW |

Title: Saint X
Author: Alexis Schaitkin
Format: 🎧 (Originally received an ARC from @celadownbooks for an honest review)
Rating: ✩ ✩

Multiple things happening here:


a) My expectation going in was that this would be true-crime inspired, an exciting thriller about what happened to Alison. That was not the case. This was a quiet, philosophical reflection on how trauma affected Alison's younger sister, Claire. Claire meets someone from the investigation and becomes obsessed with learning more. Not much actually happens in this novel, and that difference between expectation and reality was tough on my experience.


b) I don't think I liked the multiple POVs. It felt like a gimmick, rather than just focusing on the main characters. Had the book focused more on the media frenzy, the cultural outcome of Alison's case, it would have made sense to have the variety of POVs: from the actress who played Alison in a documentary, to other families who were also vacationing. But as it stands, it felt different than the rest of the tone of the novel.


c) The pacing was just incredibly slow. There are major chunks of the novel where Claire just followed people around and watched another character go about his daily life. I just didn't feel enough of a connection to the story to want to sit through that.


So ultimately, not for me, but many found it an interesting character study!

Key Points:
• Many, many POVs
• Set years after the murder
• Reconnection with someone from the past
• Unusual ending

I've tried to read this twice now. DNF each time. It's pretentious. Our MC is pretentious. Clive's personality and voice don't match his character's circumstances. I did not like this.

3.5 rounded up.

Claire’s sister Alison was found dead on a vacation to the Caribbean island of Saint X when Claire was a child. It was ruled an accident after local police spoke to a couple of guys who had been with Alison the night before her disappearance, however the family really never moved past it, continuing to believe that there was foul play involved.

As an adult, Claire is living in New York City and has never really moved passed what happened. After a casual run in with Clive, one of the men originally suspected of murder, she becomes obsessed with getting to the bottom of things, and most importantly, learning everything she can about the sister she barely knew. As her friendship with Clive grows, she becomes entangled in a web of lies and is struggling to juggle everything she knows and everything she’s yet to learn.

This seems like a polarizing book based on reviews and I can totally understand why, but I will refrain from explaining in detail as to why I feel that way to avoid any sort of spoilers. I personally enjoyed this book and I think it would make for a great book club book, lots of discussions to be had from it.

It is a mystery, but at its heart, Saint X felt like a character study of a girl who experienced something traumatic and never quite accepted or moved past it. I thought it was fascinating to watch Claire essentially descent into madness and obsession over finding out what happened to her sister all those years ago.

Because the death in question was ruled an accidental death and there is no definitive cause, it’s much more of a mystery than a thriller. At no point do I feel fearful for Claire’s safety, my heart never raced, and I was never anxious to find out what the next page held. However, I also wouldn’t categorize it as a slow burn. It was a search for answers more than nonstop action, but I felt engaged and interested the entire time.

The ending seems to be the most polarizing point, and while I can understand and even share frustrations to a degree, it also could’ve been worse.

Overall, I’m satisfied with this book, even moreso in knowing it was a debut.

This book was not what I was expecting, unfortunately. I found it to be dull and almost did not finish it. There was no action, twists, and none of the characters were that likesble.

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon Books for my advance copy of Saint X in exchange for my honest review! (Yes, another delayed review, my apologies, but I'm working through them all!!!)

Saint X is a PERFECT summer read, that is if you're into thrillers (and I am very much am). It starts off with us realizing that a summer vacation went horribly wrong. It is every parents' nightmare. You go on vacation with your 2 children and only come home with 1.

Claire is seven years old when her family is turned upside down. She has theories about what happened and goes through life being neglected by her parents. Since her sister, Alison, went missing on a resort island, the local authorities are not interested in looking any further into her disappearance aside from, she drank and got lost.

When her body turns up they close the case and say, she fell and died. They did not seek out if anyone intentionally harmed her, despite the family pleas.

Claire grows up and makes her way to New York City where she runs into one of the men she believed killed her sister. This is where the book takes us on turns, flipping timelines from present to past. The story builds and builds and yes, my book ends in my favorite way...with undisputed closure.

4 stars.  SOLID read, great thriller. I enjoyed the mystery of guessing how she died. We have enough to have our own suspicions and then to get that closure, oh that was the chef's kiss! It was a fun, fast paced read. Great to read at the beach or next to the pool! Just don't go wandering off anywhere with people you don't know...

This book begins as a story about a true crime that occurred on a Caribbean island years ago, but quickly morphs into a poignant social commentary on class, race, and how we turn the dead into whatever we want to see in the world. I loved reading this story from the perspective of the dead girl's sister, who comes to new understanding about herself, her sister, and the island of Saint X while investigating this cold case. Keep an eye out for the upcoming Hulu series of this story--it is sure to be amazing!

I thought this book would never end. The second half dragged on longer than the first which is a rare feat for a book. I contemplated DNFing it so many times, but I was so interested in finding out what happened to Alison that I trudged on. Despite the description, this book is not a thriller. I expected a thriller, so that is a big part of the slog experience I had with this book. This is more of a character study of multiple characters. I think this would have been a lot more interesting and entertaining if it was the book I thought it was going to be.

I loved the premise of this book as soon as I read the blurb, and while I did not finish it because I found the pace too slow for my taste, I still highly recommend it! The writing was sharp and masterful, really digging deep into the psyche of the characters. I found the writing overall to be very different from what I have come to expect from literary suspense or literary thrillers and I feel it worked overall. It was just missing that same sharpness when it came to the plot and pacing.

DNF at 33%. This thriller was very slow to unravel and the omnipresent narrator made it hard to connect to any of the characters. The writing style was on the wordy side and the pacing had me bored. After looking up spoilers for how this one ended, I’m feeling pretty great about my decision to bail.

I tried multiple times and I just couldn’t get into the writing of this one. This was a definite slow burn and I ultimately put this one down about 30% in. The premise and plot really had me excited but ultimately it fell flat for me.

DNF at 34%. The main character, Claire/Emily, is quite annoying to me. She is so privileged, but tries to wipe it away by ignoring that aspect of her life. I also found the writing to be hard to connect to, especially the first chapter which is purposefully written from a more distant perspective. That didn't really help my reading experience at all, and made me more hesitant to continue reading this book. I just felt that this book dealt with privilege and class in ways that felt wrong to me.

Settling back to read yet another book about the tragic death of yet another beautiful, talented privileged white college freshman, I found myself tricked into a well-plotted story which was not "yet another" anything, but an innovated look at murder and privilege.

The author drew this up out of the realm of repetition focusing on the resultant damage to not just the family but everyone who brushed up against it. A casual traveler is haunted by his memory of the girl. An early suspect, a college boy, goes back to school forever changed, the community under scrutiny finds their economy challenged and, not least, is the victim's 7 year old sister, who years later stalks one of the serious suspects through the NYC's immigrant streets. Readers watch as the family slowly self-destructs, leaving the young daughter to flail her way through the grief and loss.

The length of the book is offset by Schaitkin's skillful changes in narrator, so we experience the questions & trauma from the points of view of accused as well as accusers.

This book left me with a variety of emotions. The storyline grabbed and did not let go. Very interesting story. Good debut book by the author. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

I liked this book. But in parts, it was dull and boring. But overall, it was a great book. I see a lot of people labeling this book as a thriller. But it is more like a literary mystery book. Although I loved the interesting plot, I just did not love this book. I think it was too slow and boring for my liking.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Saint X is a mystery with very heavy themes and problems without offering a real solution or answer.

It was a frustrating yet enjoyable read.

4 out of 5 stars. Recommended read.

What can I say about this book? Schaitkin has woven a tale that is both gripping and thought-provoking. It truly examines the class structure as well as race without once feeling like they were being exploited for a story. Honestly, I loved this book. I cannot wait to read Schaitkin's next novel.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Celadon Books for my copy of Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin in exchange for an honest review. It published February 18, 2020.

I first heard about this book via the What Should I Read Next? Podcast. Ann described it in such beautiful detail, that I knew that I had to read it. Fast forward to early reviews, and they were polarizing. To be honest, it made me nervous to read this book. I wasn't sure if it would be for me. But I've now gotten to it, and I can understand why it caused such polarizing views.

I'll start off with the pros: The writing of this book is impeccable. You can tell that literally every word is considered, and chosen with the utmost care. The character development was phenomenal. The way that side characters are used strategically, sparingly, yet in such a real way, you forget that you don't even know some of their names. And the description of the island Saint X itself was incredible. You truly would think it was a real place! I want to go! She even made NYC in a novel not seem overdone, as is often the case.

The cons (or rather, trigger warnings): There is violence, (this is a mystery after all), sexual assault is talked about, there are detailed sex scenes, drug use, drinking, strong language, racist language as well.

I felt like this book was making big statements about white guilt, but that it offered no solutions. I suppose that could be the purpose, darned if you do, darned if you don't. The stuffy suburban white people pat themselves on the back for trying an "ethnic" restaurant or hiring a gardener who is a POC. Then on the other side of the coin, locals on the Caribbean island are understandably annoyed at the tourists for trying to assuage their white guilt. I was hoping for some sort of message that went beyond the guilt and annoyance dichotomy, but was left wanting. I suppose that could have been on purpose, but I felt that focusing on the theme of this topic so much, then not addressing it in the end was such a letdown. Of course I know that a fiction book won't fix these issues, but I felt that the issues we face today were put under a magnifying glass with no hope or way help the situation. Just pointed out, nothing more. But again, that very well could have been the purpose, just to point it out, and leave it up to the reader to decide what to do with the information presented.

If you enjoy books with many characters, a strong sense of place that make you think, but don't necessarily tell you what to do/think that don't necessarily tie up in a perfect bow of solutions and clear concise messages, you'll like this.

I disagree with those that didn't enjoy this book, I really enjoyed it!

Perhaps my interest in the Natalie Holloway disappearance kept me intrigued during the slower parts. At times it was difficult for me to separate the two (NH and Saint X), which made the story a lot heavier for me. I cannot imagine losing a child or sibling on a vacation, when life is supposed to be its best.

I loved how we grew to know Alison through Claire, as Claire learns the truth about her sister. The author did a great job of relaying the struggle one might feel in Claire's situation and how a single moment could impact an entire life for a family.

How Claire crosses paths with Clive is a little bit of a stretch, but I have to admit that similar things have happened to me. Once on a train from Charles de Gaul to Paris I was tapped on a shoulder by my childhood neighbor whom I hadn't seen in 20 years. The chances that we were not only in Paris at the same time, but also happened to be on the same train, in the same car still utterly shocks me. So, Claire and Clive's chance encounter is unlikely, but it happens, people!

I would recommend this book to my friends!

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
#SaintX #NetGalley

This book was slow moving at first and took a while for it to pull me in. It was well-written, but overall not for me. I think there was a hype for this book and it didn't live up to it for me.