A family vacation to the fictional Caribbean island Saint X turns deadly when 18-year-old Alison disappears and is later found dead, leaving her family devastated and her 7-year-old sister, Claire, with questions that seem like they’ll never be answered. But when a chance meeting years later in New York City brings Claire face to face with the man who was arrested but later released in the case, she’ll stop at nothing to finally find out the truth.

“Saint X” promises on the surface to be a fast paced thriller, but the book was much less a mystery than an exploration of white privilege and race relations. Claire’s decisions are often frustrating, but, given the impact her sister’s disappearance had on her life, not unbelievable. Author Alexis Schaitkin in the end is less interested in who did it and how than in how and why it happened in the first place, and because of this focus, the resolution of the mystery of Alison’s disappearance is a little unsatisfying. But if you go into “Saint X” thinking of it more as an exploration of sociopolitical issues than as a mystery, you’ll find it’s a compelling, interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review.

The author is VERY successful at describing places and setting a scene... makes you feel like you are there. BUT (and there's always a but) The story overall did not feel particularly original and engaging overall. A cast of unlikeable characters makes this a bit of a drag.

Saint X while an interesting book, was not what I was expecting. I don't know if that is the reason why I found it so difficult to read it, but I struggled to get through it. I wish I could go back and read it without any preconceived notions because I think I would like the book more and I would have got more out of it.

it was well written and my issues are more about my own understanding than the actual quality of the writing or story.

2.5 stars. I was intrigued by the plot and engrossed in the beginning but then things got a little wordy and the descriptions seem to make the story drag a little too much. I also wasn't a huge fan of the ending.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

This was a very different book than what I was expecting, first it was told from various points of view and we get to see what life is like on a Caribbean island, and a death of a privileged while girl while on vacation. Much is written about Allison the girl who dies, how bright, athletic, "a star", loved, worshiped by her little sister who is only 7 when she dies. Her sister runs into one of the men involved in her sister's death, 25 years later.and is determined to find out what really happened. Claire or Emily now, seems aware of how privileged she is but other times seems clueless and despite being able to afford a "better"place in NY stays in the same basement apartment. This was a tough book as the people on the island don't have a lot and most of the work they have is to serve the tourists that come to the island that don't treat them very well. I look forward to reading more by this author as this book really made me think.

What starts out as an affluent's family annual holiday soon delves into a whodunit. But Saint X is less Nancy Drew and more fifth-rate musings on whatever happened to Alison? Claire, an amateur detective of sorts, sets out to find out what happened to her sister in the fictitious Indigo Bay. While we do find out what happened to Alison it is not top notch sleuthing that reveals all, but rather a young woman's determination to prove something and finding out she knows nothing. Claire, as protagonist, is not as likeable as expected and thus lends a sense of dullness to Alison's story. Instead, it is the island of Saint X and its inhabitants that pull the reader in although it is unclear if this was the intention. Saint X's themes of race, privilege, and perception are where the real story is at, but it never delivers concrete answers in part due to its penchant for meandering tangents that prove distracting. Decent stay at home rad.

What an incredible story. I suspected this to be a predictable story about a young woman who goes missing on a tropical island. We all make our assumptions when we hear of a beautiful smart young woman going missing--and I fell straight into the typical group of thinking an island male native was responsible for her murder. Granted--the story leads you in that direction pretty distinctively from the very beginning.
But we follow Claire, who after her older sister's death changes her name to Emily, and how she survives this horror and grows up in the shadow of her older sisters early demise.
What was so unexpected and what kept me entranced in this story was that Claire/Emily end up befriending the man every suspects is responsible for Alison's murder.
Clive Richardson and Claire become close friends, but eventually all the secrets come to light. This story definitely concluded on a defeating note.
All the characters keep things close to their chest and these secrets cause so much anguish and pain toward those they love. No one is exempt from the hard blows life deals, and the story turns from a murder story into a tragic accident. It's not so much of a story about preventing what bad things can happen, but a broader look at what living life to the fullest really means, and if we follow that desire are the bad things that can happen worth the risk of living the life you want?

A stunning debut novel that tackles grief and loss in the most unique way. While not a thriller as I initially expected, what unfolded was more than I could have hoped for. This novel grapples with social issues like racism and privilege. The writing so intricate, you practically feel like you’re on the island or in the streets of New York. Beautifully executed.

So this may be a season of very thought-scattered reviews. I bet ten years into the future when I look back on the books I read this Spring the stories will forever be tied to the pandemic in my mind.

And so here we go with this review for a book I think I totally loved. I just found out this is the author's debut and that is AMAZEBALLS. Because right away you will fall in love with the writing. And then as the book continues you realize the book is even more than you thought, and eventually you'll realize this could be assigned reading in university and you could have written thousands of words on Claire's psychological journey.

What I did not like:
I hate the cover. I delayed reading this book because the cover and even the title did nothing to excite me, and I don't feel they give any clues to the great stuff inside the book.
Some parts dragged for me, but how can we know if that was the book, or my pandemic attention span?
I'm not sure I liked the ending, but the worst I can say is I'm not sure I agree with how it was done.

What I loved:
The writing.
Clive.
Reading about life on Saint X.
The surprise character stories at the end.
The writing.

So this is the best constructed review I am capable of at the moment. Should you read this book? Absolutely! It's the first book that was able to capture my attention for any length of time during the Time of the Pandemic. And that is pretty high praise. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC. I'll have my eye out for books by Schaitkin in the future, for sure.

I tried several times to read this book and couldn't get into it. The pacing was very slow for me. I was disappointed since I was really intrigued by the plot..

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I started loving it, then my love began to fade away... and I didn't like it. At all. But then something happened, and I started to liked it again. Having read it all, I know feel meh. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself to dnf it. Maybe it's the timing of me reading it (the social distancing), maybe it wasn't the right book for me. Either way, I feel like I read a whole lot of nothingness. This book isn't moving, isn't special, isn't unique. Well. The uniqueness reside in the telling of everyone's point of view, that was interesting, but didn't add anything to the plot, it just confused me. Like I said: maybe I wasn't the right public for this one...

Many thanks to Celadon Books for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

College-aged Allison disappears while on a tropical island vacation with her family. Claire is only seven when her body is found a few days later. The story is fodder for tabloids for months and the family relocates to the other side of the country. Fast forward fifteen years and Emily (Claire is going by her middle name now) comes across one of the two men originally suspected in her sister’s murder. She begins to follow him nightly, but for what? She isn’t even sure what she wants. Closure? The truth?

I had to force myself to finish this book. I hated Emily. I thought she was weak and boring. I was never drawn into the story and honestly felt like I’d been watching a poor version of a Dateline NBC episode. And in the end, I still feel like it left you wanting the truth, and didn’t come to any conclusions.

I had such high hopes for this book. Girl goes missing while in an island vacation...very reminiscent of Natalie Holloway. The story began along these same lines and then fell completely flat. We follow Alison’s sister Claire as she has to deal with being confronted with her sisters death while obsessing over one of the guys that was accused of her murder.

The story just slowed down very quickly and then moved at a snails pace. I didn’t like any of the characters. Very disappointed

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My first thought of this book was that its simply a retelling of the Natalie Holloway murder case from several years back in Aruba. Many aspects of this story match that from my brief memory of that story. I did like this book although I don't think it should be classified as a thriller. That gives the reader a wrong impression of what they are fixing to read and may disappoint them. It is a little bit of a slow burn for me and there were several chapters that I had to go back and re-read because i wasn't quite retaining things. I have begun listening to the audiobook version of it and that is helping a lot. The audiobook has a full cast and it helps me get a grasp on the characters.

There's a lot that I know I'll still think about long after I put this book away: The fickleness of adolescence, the feeling of trying to grasp at the threads of a person who's no longer alive, the ethical and moral quandaries of the tourism industry. If anything, Saint X is actually a complementary read to Such a Fun Age in its exploration of racism, privilege, and exploitation. Rich white ladies just rich white lady about in both books.

From a reader perspective though, there's just...a lot to slog through. If you like incredibly flowery and MFA-y prose, meandering backstories, and characters who aren't particularly likable on purpose, this could be your read. In that case, I'd say probably the biggest issue with this book is its marketing: It's literary fiction, not mystery or thriller; the latter two genres are secondary. I'm walking away feeling like I'm still digesting everything. Giving it 2.5 stars seems too low but three stars seems too high?

Saint X is the best title Celadon has released to date and that's saying something considering how popular their titles are. This gorgeously written thriller starts with a death and unwinds to show the devastation it leaves--so often we think of those who are taken, but Saint X tackles those left behind and the long shadow loss casts. I loved that minor characters got their say, I love the writing, I love the unflinching fury and grief at the heart. Most of all, I love that Saint X shows that it's not the why or how that we're searching for in grief--what we want is who we lost and how that can't happen. Very highly recommended and one of the best reads of 2020.

While not what I expected, this was still a 4 star read for me.

I don’t think this should have been marketed as a thriller. It was much more of a deeply moving study of grief and what it can do to a person, family, and community. I absolutely loved the authors style of writing and look forward to reading anything she writes. I predict great things.

Saint X is an excellent literary mystery. It's even more impressive considering it's a debut novel.

Sisters Alison and Claire are on vacation with their family on Saint X - a Caribbean island. Claire, in elementary school, wants her college-age sister to think she's cool, but she's the awkward one with a habit of tracing letters in the air with her finger. Alison is the popular, beautiful girl with plenty of friends and boyfriends. She also disappears on the last day of vacation. Resort employee Clive "Gogo" Richardson is suspected of the crime, but the police don't have any evidence to charge him.

Years later, Claire lives in New York City and by chance is picked up by cab driver Gogo. She immediately becomes obsessed with him, knowing she has a chance to find out what really happened to her sister all those years earlier. She's willing to jeopardize her job, friendships, and life to find the truth. But is her new obsession even the key to the truth?

I loved the setting in the novel - from the lush beaches of Saint X to the gritty streets of New York. The story alternates in time and perspective. Sometimes the reader sees it from Alison's perspective, from Claire's, and even from Gogo's. There are flashbacks, diary entries, and news snippets from the investigation. Overall it makes for a compelling narrative.

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin is a solid debut from an author who promises to be one to watch. I was initially drawn to this book by the fictional Caribbean setting, but was quickly pulled in by the family drama that unfolds, albeit quite gradually. This one is definitely a slow burn, but well worth the time invested. This is a character-driven plot that will likely have less appeal for the thrill seekers.

When seven year old Claire is on vacation with her family on the island of Saint X, her much older sister Alison is found murdered in a remote spot not far from the family's resort. Two men, employees of the resort, are charged but later released. Fast forward to many years later, and Claire is working in New York when she has a chance encounter with Clive, one of the initially accused. Claire takes it upon herself to stalk Clive, desperately seeking answers to a mystery that has plagued her for so many years. Who was the sister she never really knew?

Saint X is definitely one of the most anticipated reads of the year, and it clearly deserves all of the hype that has been attached to it. I will look forward to reading more from this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this ARC.