This was a dark, emotional rollercoaster of a story. Some really hard-hitting themes make this a difficult read at times (but are well handled by the author) and the ending is shocking, yet satisfying, and will stay with me. This is definitely a road trip you'll remember.

Incredible! One of the best books I have ever read!

Wow! Where do I start with telling you how brilliant this book is? Just from reading the blurb, I knew it would be a book I’d enjoy; I just didn’t realise quite how much!

Susan and Danny Lentigo are distraught when their daughter Amy goes missing. A desperate search for the young child unfortunately doesn’t end well. Who could’ve done something so terrible to their sweet and innocent little girl? Thankfully it’s not long before the cops find the man that they are sure committed this heinous crime and with a confession on the table, this guy is heading for one place only. Death Row!

Twenty years later, Susan, still raw with grief, starts on a journey to North Dakota. Finally, after all these years, it is time for the execution of Amy’s killer! This road trip does not run smoothly for Susan in any way shape or form and when something happens along the way that casts a shadow of doubt on whether the right guy is on Death Row it becomes a race against time to potentially try and save the man she has wanted dead for so long!

The chapters switch from past to present detailing what happened around the time Amy was murdered and then allowing us to follow Susan as she heads to the execution. Cleverly and expertly written, this fast-paced, tense thriller will keep you hanging off the edge of your seat right until the final pages. With every chapter comes something unexpected, my attention never waned and the whole story played out in my mind like a movie.

Susan is such a likeable character, her love for her daughter shines through in her determination to get to the truth. Everything that happens to this woman would make most give up and go home, not Susan though, she picks herself up every time and keeps going to the bitter end. I was rooting for her every step of the way.

The suspense in this book is nail-biting and the story at the core heart-breaking. With twists and turns that you won’t see coming this really is an outstanding read! Each time I was sure who the killer was, something happened to plant a seed of doubt and it became a guessing game all over again.

Addictive, enthralling and utterly compelling! I can’t recommend this book highly enough, thank you so much to the author Matt Witten for contacting me and asking me to read this phenomenal book!

4 stars. Susan has lived a nightmare. Her daughter was raped and murdered, and her marriage to her high school sweetheart couldn’t weather the storm. now, 20 years later Susan is traveling to see the execution. Readers are able to follow Susan’s journey, as well as individuals she meets during her trip. Readers are also exposed to Susan’s uncertainty of whether or not the condemned man actually committed the crime.

What a ride! A thrilling and gripping story, a rush to solve a murder before an execution, a mother who wants justice.
Matt Willen can surely writes and delivers a story that kept me on the edge till the end.
Loved the characters and the plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Wow, this book really surprised me. It was so well written that I became swept up in finding justice for Amy and found myself flying through the pages, unable to put it down.

The story in a few words:

A small town waitress, Susan Lentigo, sets out on a road trip to North Dakota to witness the execution of the man who killed her daughter twenty years ago. This is a heart-pounding crusade for justice and as the clock ticks down on Curt Jansen`s life we follow Susan on a journey towards the inevitable. Along the way she meets people pulling her out of multiple predicaments she faced.... especially meeting her ex and the retired cop who made the original arrest.... Janson always maintained he was innocent, now at the last hours Susan wonders if they have the right man behind bars and pinpoints all her energy on finding the truth.

My thoughts:

This story if very predicable I easily pictured what was coming long before I read it. Haven said this, Mr. Witten has nevertheless written a very suspenseful and captivating drama I enjoyed quite a bit. We follow two timelines: one set twenty years ago, when the crime occurred. The second timeline is present day when Jansen is days from being executed.

“The necklace” is a fast-paced thriller hard to put down and is told from the point of view of Susan. The writing style is very direct no flowery language to slow down the prose. Even with its dark and dreary subject matter the story is not a depressing read. Susan character is multi-layered and human. She makes mistakes and takes risks; it is so easy for us to root for her all the way.

The necklace plays a key part of the plot and why is this simple piece of beaded jewellery made by Susan and worn by the daughter just days before her murder so special.....the simple answer: the necklace was never found during the investigation....an intrigue that follows us till the very end.

Although this story is a fiction, the author has based some parts on different events and people and had made a true page-turner with few twists to derailed most of us.

This is a good read I enjoyed passing time with.

Every so often along comes a book which just surprises, astonishes and yet resonates with me – this is one such book.

Susan Lentigo’s seven year old daughter Amy was killed twenty years ago. Now, the man convicted of her murder is about to face the death penalty and, more than anything, Susan wants to be there. On her journey – which doesn’t turn out as planned – things occur which make her begin to doubt his guilt and she is in turmoil; what should be her priority? Released an innocent person or pursuing the one she thinks murdered her daughter? With the FBI dismissive of her claims, help comes from a most unexpected source – a teenage girl with issues of her own and a retired lawman. Can Susan do the right thing – and in time?

Wow. This is a real page turner of a read. So much so that when I finished my previous novel – the last 20 minutes – in bed last night I though I would read the first chapter of this one. In the not-too-early hours I finally closed my kindle having read right to the very end. My heart was breaking not only for Susan’s suffering but for her amazing bravery. A very smartly written novel where the author’s experience shines through. I know I’m not going to be able to resist the next novel from Matt Witten after such a terrific read! This is gripping and exciting in the extreme. The author knows his characters and it shows. An awesome read, highly recommended and absolutely deserving of all five sparkling stars!

My thanks to the author for alerting me to his novel which I received via NetGalley; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.

The Necklace is a contemporary suspense novel based on a couple of real life cases, about a woman travelling to witness the execution of the man who killed her daughter twenty years earlier - or did he? I requested it after seeing an enthusiastic review in one of my NetGalley groups, but should have checked with my like-minded GoodReads buddies first, as I normally do. It is competently written, and I did want to get to the end to find out what happened, but several issues impaired my enjoyment and mean it’s firmly in the 3-star “okay not great” category.

Susan Lentigo is a middle-aged divorcée who works in a diner in a small town in New York State and is still grieving the loss of her only child, seven year old Amy, who was raped and murdered. Now the killer is scheduled to die, and Susan sets off on a cross-country pilgrimage to North Dakota, to witness the execution. Then a series of mishaps leads her to a piece of evidence which has her questioning everything, and a race against time to prevent a terrible miscarriage of justice.

The author is new to me and from the afterword, lives in the kind of community depicted here, so I have to assume that the attitudes, behaviours and language here are true to life, no matter how unbelievable they seem to someone who has never lived in a country with the death penalty in use. This opens with Susan attending a fund-raising party to allow her to travel there, with all her friends, family & colleagues cheerfully drinking, dancing and joking about the execution, and seemingly forgetting that a little girl died horribly. This almost medieval approach continues throughout the book, as various characters gleefully tell Susan to enjoy her trip as if it’s some kind of holiday - even including the prison staff organising the lethal injection, in a way I found highly distasteful. And the scene where Susan walks past the cells of other death row inmates close enough to be spat on? Seriously?

The flashback chapters were well done as we first meet Susan and Amy and see their closeness, then experience Susan’s rising panic from the moment her daughter is reported missing. Her grief and the subsequent demise of her marriage were believable, but her actions once she starts her journey much less so. I suppose she’s led a sheltered life but to set off alone in a battered old car with nothing but pocketfuls of cash, which she brings out in public, is asking for trouble. The way she yells and swears at, is rude to or even shoves anyone who doesn’t immediately agree with her made her very difficult to like, despite my initial sympathy. About halfway through, the plot takes a turn towards a disappointingly overused trope - I can’t say more without spoilers but from then on the outcome was rather predictable. The author is a TV writer and it very much shows in the down-to-the-wire denouement.

I think this book would appeal most to people who don’t read a lot of thrillers, so won’t see the twists coming. It’s a fairly quick read in spite of the cross country travel dragging things out. There are references to child abuse but we don’t “see” the murder happening. There’s a lot of swearing, in case that bothers you. I didn’t like the main character, who brought much of her misfortune after the murder upon herself - and don’t get me started on her promiscuous mother and her unforgivable selfishness. I wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be comic relief as she carts her oxygen cylinder from date to date. I did however like feisty teenager Kyra, and the cover, which shows the titular plastic necklace at the centre of the plot - it is at least different from all the generic images that currently adorn covers in this genre.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oceanview publishing for the ARC. I am posting this honest review voluntarily. The Necklace is published on September 7th.

Wow.. just wow.. chilling!!!
This book gave me goosebumps. Waiting for what I wanted and thought should happened actually happening.
I couldn't put this one down.
This story is so well written and all the characters so believable.
This is my first from this author but definitely won't be my last.
And reading the Authors notes at the end makes it even more brilliant.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

RATING: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 🌟/5
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I have definitely been in the spooky mood and this mystery combined with crime, was the perfect start. 🔪
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SYNOPSIS: Susan’s 7-year-old daughter was killed 🩸. Now, she’s heading to North Dakota to witness the execution of Curt. Susan knows he confessed, but she can’t help but wondering if he actually did it. 💭
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PROS: This was an amazing book that kept me reading way into the night 🌙. I loved the switching from past to present to figure out who killed her. Matt told the story of a grieving mother with such heartfelt eyes. I loved every bit of it.
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CONS: Definitely needs a trigger warning for sexual abuse. If you have a hard time with this, you may wanna skip this one

I would like to thank Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing for an advance copy of The Necklace, a stand-alone set in New York State and North Dakota.

Twenty years ago Susan Lentigo’s seven year old daughter, Amy, was murdered and now her killer is to be executed in North Dakota. Susan is determined to go to the execution and scrapes the money together to drive the 1500 miles to the prison. On the journey she discovers new evidence to suggest that “the Monster” as she calls him is not Amy’s killer, but no one wants to hear it.

I’m not sure what I expected from The Necklace, but it wasn’t what I got and I struggled to keep my attention on it. This is not the novel’s fault, more my lack of connection to Susan. It is a character driven novel, so it is told entirely from Susan’s point of view and as I am not a death penalty advocate I have absolutely no understanding of why anyone would want to go and see another person die.

I found the novel slow at the beginning. The first 40% of the novel alternates between the present day and Susan’s preparations for and misadventures en route to North Dakota and twenty years ago and the weeks and months surrounding Amy’s disappearance. Then the clue appears. The clue is such a big hint that there is no mystery left, it’s all about Susan’s efforts to get the authorities to believe what she now knows and her reactions to that knowledge.

This is a well written novel with an interesting premise and a well executed style, which will appeal to many readers. The problem for me is that I’m not interested in character study and much prefer a good puzzle. I didn’t like Susan, who wears her victimhood as a self righteous excuse for rudeness and bad behaviour. Maybe it is, but it’s not fiction that appeals to me.

This book really was a great way to start off the month !! Thank you to Matt Witten, Netgallye, and Oceanview Publishing for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Susan's daughter Amy was murdered 20 years ago, and man who killed her is about to be executed. After losing her daughter, her husband also left and moved on... so Susan's life was just a mess for the last 20 years. She thought going to the execution would finally give her some closure. There was only thing bothering her thought all these years... Amy was wearing a homemade necklace when she was taken and it was never recovered, and the man who "confessed" to killing her daughter, recanted his statement later on, so she has always had a small amount of doubt and suspicion that the wrong person is being killed. On her way to the execution, she discovers something that will solidify her doubts and hopefully help put the real killer behind bars--- as long as she can make it in time and convince the right people.

This story was very intense and fast paced right from the beginning. The story is being told form Susans POV, in alternating timelines- present day and 20 years ago before and after her daughter was killed. I loved the fact that there was background information about what happened and what led up to Amy's death, however I wish there was more detail behind the actual crime, why it was committed, how the killer was "caught"

The chapters were very short which helped with the pacing of the story and the storyline was very interesting. It was a very different story and I loved that the author used true crime cases he had knowledge of to shape the plot for this story... I honestly think its insane the amount of death row that are innocent.

I did like how the story ended however I wish there would have been more detail and digging into the whole situation. Overall, it was a very unique domestic thriller. I definitely enjoyed it.

Oo y’all this gave me all the creepy vibes! Definitely couldn’t stop reading this one… it was my first ready by Matt Witten and I am very impressed!

Susan’s seven year old daughter was murdered twenty years ago and it is finally time for her murders execution. With no money Susan gets donations/tips to make the trip to make it to see this monster put to depth but faces many problems along the way. While on the trip she also starts to notice reg flags from the past the name her think maybe the killer isn’t who is behind bars after all.

Now listen, I read a ton of thrillers and can stomach a lot but there was one detail in here I didn’t think was necessary. I thought I had it figured out pretty early on so I wanted a couple more twists that didn’t come. I really did enjoy the two timelines and the authors note at the end explaining how he came up with this story was awesome.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exhange for an honest review.
I found "The Necklace" by Matt Witten to be an addictive, intriguing, original & well written story that pulled me in & didn't let me go until its final page.
I loved the author's writing style, how he told the story by using flashbacks from 20 years ago to show the reader how everything went down during the investigation.
This is an absolute must read &
I can't wait to read what Matt decides to write next.

This is the first book that I read by Matt Witten and after looking into the author’s biography and finding out that he was a writer for screen productions, I can see why this book was so atmospheric. I found myself envisioning the scenes clearly and getting absorbed into the plot.

Although the nature of the crimes of this book were troublesome and not for everyone, I was captivated by the story and was in it until the end. This story had twists and turns and led to many visible facial expressions that my family witnessed.

If you can stomach the content, I highly recommend this fast-paced read.

I really appreciated the character of Susan, and it's refreshing to read a story centered around an older woman with limited income in the Appalachian region. Her story was told with a good deal of empathy and understanding, which I found moving. I truly like a lot of the elements of this story, and it was an interesting premise. I did find that the quality of the prose, in its final version, wasn't as strong as some of the authors in the thriller genre that I admire, but part of that may be due to the fact that the formatting of the ARC was off, so that the paragraph structure was rendered mute. Sometimes that means, as a reader, you lose out on the cadence of the writing and the intentions of the author.

Overall, I'm glad that I read this one!

It’s been twenty years since the death of her seven year-old daughter Amy, but Susan Lentigo is finally about to get her closure. After the federal trial and conviction of the man she will only call by the term The Monster, Susan demanded the death penalty. The sentencing judge was only too happy to grant her request given the brutality of the crime. Now her daughter’s killer will finally be executed in the prison where he’s been incarcerated while waiting out the appeals process in far-off North Dakota.

Trouble is, Susan doesn’t have a lot of money for the trip there from her small New York town. A year or so after Amy died, she and her real estate agent husband Danny split up, and she’s been waitressing to make ends meet ever since. The town holds a fundraiser for her expenses, but one costly disaster after another dogs her as she makes her way west to bear witness to the death of the man she believes raped and murdered her daughter.

As she progresses, however, a niggling feeling that she can’t escape keeps troubling her:

QUOTE
She still had a feeling in her bones that she couldn’t put her finger on, that didn’t make sense, that there was something about her daughter’s murder she had missed, and if she had noticed it at the time, she could have prevented it.

But what did she miss? What could she have done?

The psychiatrist down at Albany Hospital had told her it was a common phenomenon: people feeling guilty after a senseless tragedy, trying to come up with some scenario whereby it wasn’t just random but something they themselves had somehow caused. For some people, it was better to feel guilty than to feel like they had no control over what happened in their lives.
END QUOTE

Susan knows she has a history of emotional instability, and that this contributed to the breakdown of her marriage. The stress of her journey wears on her capacity for self-control, but when she thinks she’s unearthed evidence that the wrong man was convicted of her daughter’s slaying, even she balks at what this could mean for the past two decades of her life. She’s lived in limbo for all this time, waiting for the execution of one person to bring her the vindication she needs in order to move on with her life. But what if she’s gotten it all wrong, and an innocent man is about to die? And what if, by keeping quiet, she gives a killer the opportunity to abuse and murder another child?

This is a fast-paced and fascinating look into the mind of a protagonist often underrepresented in the psychological thriller. Most of the heroines in this genre are firmly middle-class and in their twenties or thirties: Susan, on the other hand, is older, poorer and indifferently educated. The social contrast to the typical heroine is both stark and compelling, especially as she interacts with a wide range of people also affected by the sentencing. Standouts include the conflicted FBI Agent Robert Pappas; fellow traveler Lisa, whose kindness belies her fierce protectiveness of her family, and feisty teenager Kyra, who provides a helping hand when Susan most desperately needs it.

But it isn’t just the characters who serve to differentiate this story from other mysteries. The insights into poverty and the theater of the death penalty make for rich, thoughtful reading, as here where Susan is being taken on a tour of the execution room by the distressingly perky Pam from the prison’s public relations department:

QUOTE
Susan imagined herself sitting in one of those gray folding chairs, watching [her daughter’s killer] die. She had been so eager to be the last person [he] saw while he was taking his final breath. She wondered, would the judge have given [him] the death penalty if she hadn’t demanded it?

“Any other questions?” Pam asked.

“I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”

Pam took a barf bag out of a drawer of the medical cart. “We got you covered,” she said, her voice sounding extra cheerful, if anything.
END QUOTE

This novel is a smart, propulsive page-turner that chronicles how Susan faces internal turmoil and external obstacles on her cross-country odyssey to find justice for her child. Matt Witten’s background as an Emmy- and Edgar-nominated television script-writer serves him very well here, as the tension builds to a devastating climax. The Necklace has also been optioned for film with Leonardo diCaprio attached as producer, but you should definitely get in on the ground floor by reading this terrific book before seeing the movie!

A digital copy of this book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 20-years ago, Susan's 7 year old daughter was murdered and the man who killed her is to be executed on Saturday. Susan spends every penny she has to make the trek from New York to North Dakota to view the execution. Through a series of very unfortunate events, Susan eventually finds her way to the town that houses the prison. Along the way, she starts to have doubts about the man sentenced to die. She stumbles upon the missing necklace of her daughter and all roads lead to someone else being the killer. There is nothing like literally waiting to the final second to for the outcome to be revealed. Even though this had subject matter that was a bit intense, it didn't go into too much detail. Although some of the events throughout the week were a bit far-fetched, it didn't turn me off the book. Solid story I would recommend. Thank you NetGalley, Oceanview Publishing and Matt Witten.

Susan Lentigo has spent twenty miserable years following the kidnap, rape, and murder of her seven year old daughter. It was a heinous crime, a necklace homemade by Susan and her daughter still missing, thought to be a trophy.

She is broke as ever since her husband left her within the year of their daughter’s death. The little town kicked off a fundraiser to supply funds for her trip to North Dakota for the execution. She’ll take a bus.

Susan blew hot and cold for me—some of her snap decisions left me wondering about her objective. The money given to her was stolen, leaving her side-tracked, broke, and at the generosity of people, some of whom made for amazing support characters.

She begins to rack up some clues, flaming her doubts again about the condemned man, but the person of interest instead now is even more devastating. Susan determines she must prove her theory and can ally with the former FBI agent involved in her daughter’s case.

After a somewhat sullen, somber start, the pace revs up and by the time they arrive at the prison, the fast-pace swings into high gear and demands full on attention, gripping, and riveted to the conclusion.

The conclusion—while satisfying on the surface—neglected to complete a few minor details. That, along with a couple plot holes, contradictions, pushed me off a higher star rating. Yes, I was kept glued during the latter third (quarter?), but pushed just a bit beyond disbelief a couple times as well. 3.5 stars - V Williams