Wow! This was one of those books that I couldn’t shake it long after I finished it and the whole time I was reading it, it felt so real and vivid. The writing is amazing and the author has the power to really bring you into the story and the words on the page actually come to life.
I loved this book. I loved the characters and the emotions they all made me feel.
10 stars! I want to read more by this author.
Thank you Netgalley, the author and the publisher for my free arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book was hard to put down and I read it all in one sitting. I liked the characters and the story structure worked well for this book. And I was kept in suspense until the end.

I'm sorry but as my English is not as good as my Spanish, I will write on this language.
Thriller muy entretenido y con un argumento realmente original.
El comienzo ya es impactante. Susan Lentigo va a Dakota del Norte para asistir a la ejecución del hombre que violó y asesinó a su hija Amy, de siete años, hace 20. Como no tiene demasiados recursos, sus amigos organizan un concierto para recaudar fondos para el viaje.
En este trayecto, además de pasar las de Caín, en un momento dado se da cuenta de que podría estar en un error, y que el condenado no fuera realmente el asesino de su hija. Y comienza un "tour de force" para descubrir la verdad, salvar a un inocente de la inyección letal y hacer que condenen al auténtico culpable.
Como digo, muy entretenida.

I received a free ARC of The Necklace from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Necklace was a fast read for a snowy and cold Maine afternoon and it managed to mostly entertain until the end. Throughout the book I kept thinking that something was off with the plot but I couldn't quite pinpoint the problem. Some plot elements were repetitive and some characters were more caricatures than rounded individuals. But the last few chapters were so unrealistic that they sullied the entire novel. Having victims' family members stroll past other prisoners' cells on Death Row? Ebullient victim advocate whose thoughtless comments add to family's pain? These really awful plot elements weaken the story.

The murder of a child as portrayed through the anguish of her mother presents a high emotional point. Little Amy was kidnapped, raped and murdered with her supposed murderer quickly captured, tried, and convicted. Decades pass before his scheduled execution and in those long years mother Susan has existed but not really lived. Incapable of really moving on, now divorced Susan still lives in the same New York house with her daughter's bedroom a time capsule to what was. Only the scheduled execution of her daughter's murderer in distant North Dakota gets her motivated to move, to be a witness to his death. Her journey there alternates between grimy road trip and weary nausea. Her bus ride gives her extended time to think and remember, especially her ex-husband. When the bus journey takes her through his new home town, Susan exits the bus in order to inform him about the execution. And her doubts really settle in about the guilt of the man awaiting execution in North Dakota.

Witten does a great job presenting Susan - a woman whose life stopped decades earlier yet she still gets out of bed every morning. Other characters like her mother and ex-husband are less appealing not because of their character flaws but because of their flat, singular personas.
#NetGalley #TheNecklace

An amazing book. I had never heard of the author before so this was a step into new territory. Susan the mother to a daughter found murdered 20 years ago is taking a trip to see the man found guilty and condemned to death due to her request for the death penalty. Susan, heads out on her 1,000 mile trip to watch the execution with a clapped out car and money raised by her community to pay for her trip. What a journey and what a finale. The ending is brilliant. Great plot and characters. I really enjoyed this book.

Good read. Susan Lentingo is out for justice for her raped and murdered daughter. A slow burn thriller, mystery told in then and now format. On her way to the execution of her daughters murder she starts to have doubts if the right man is being executed. With help from Kyra she’ll begin to unravel the real killer. Thank you @netgalley

Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher through Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 5/5

The Necklace was an incredibly intriguing mystery novel. It pulled me in from the first sentence and I was dying to figure out what happened to the necklace throughout the book! Susan was a fantastic narrator for this book since she never intended to find herself in the position where she doubted the trial conviction years before. The fact that it’s optioned into a movie only adds to the book, as it’s written so descriptively and clearly that I could definitely picture the movie in my mind as I read it. Fantastic, dark read that I will highly recommend when it’s finally available!

I feel weird saying how much I have enjoyed reading this book considering it’s dreadful topic. This book hooked me from the first page and kept me reading even at work until the end. It’s a mother’s worst nightmare to have something tragic happen to their child; It’s not uncommon to wake from nightmares about our children and realize it was just a dream. But this story takes you through the horrible experience of having a young child raped and murdered, going through an investigation and trial, then the aftermath of self doubt and grief, then the reflection one at the precipice of the execution of the one found guilty. It is written beautifully and takes you through this sordid experience in a way that kept me reading and wanting to find out how it ends. On her way to the execution Susan reflects on her daughters murder and her life. She finally starts to bring up old memories that she has hidden from herself and begins to question the events of the murder, the person found guilty and the weight of justice about to be served by death. On her way from her hometown to the prison she goes through a journey of self discovery and starts her own murder investigation. As both her physical journey with its own twists and turns is told in tandem with her history the story comes together on the day of execution where justice is served. What a satisfying ending to such a tragic story!!
I’m going to dry the tears from my eyes and go hug my daughter now.
Thank you to Matt for writing so delicately about this horrid topic and thank you to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I could not put this book down. It was gripping from page one and had a lot of twists and turns. The emotions the characters go through, you feel them all and you constantly need to know what happens next, I read this in just over a day! The way the book went back and forth from present day and 20 years ago was genius and perfectly announced so there was no confusion. I'd love to see this made into a movie!!

When twenty inches of snow keeps you house bound for the weekend, you can either moan and bitch or finish a thriller in one day. I chose to devour "The Necklace."
Susan and Daniel live in the foothills of the Adirondacks. Their world falls apart when their seven year old daughter. Ami is kidnapped, raped and murdered. Twenty years later and long divorced, Susan travels to North Dakota to witness the execution of the man convicted of her daughter's' murder. The trip from New York State to North Dakota is filled with problems and Susan arrives penniless after all of her travel funds are stolen. She also begins to have doubts that the right man is being executed.
This book would make a great film and despite the gruesome subject matter, it was
an exciting read.

This book is full of emotions and you won’t be able to stop thinking about it even after the last page. Ping ponging back and forth with the past and present it focuses on the emotional struggles of a woman who suffered tragedy and is determined for justice. You’ll find yourself staying up late just to finish it! Thankyou NG for the copy!

A mother's worst nightmare; yet the perfect tale of a mothers strength and relentless for her child. The willingness to carry on after a tragedy, the need for rightful justice. A thriller so well written it's believable.

This book was really good from page 1. The story was interesting and drew me in quickly. Susan lost her 7 year old daughter, Amy, twenty years earlier when she was kidnapped, raped and murdered. The man who was convicted is on death row and set to be put to death soon. Susan is determined to be at the execution and her friends have raised the money for her to get there as she has a meager salary as a waitress and has divorced from Amy's father. The book goes back and forth between the present day with Susan on her way to the execution, and the past when Amy disappeared and her body was discovered and all that ensued. The book flows well and there are several twist and revelations that occur as the story progresses. I was interested the entire time and the writing, although pretty basic, was clear and concise. Quick read but definitely a good thriller! Thanks so much to NG for the ARC!!

i really enjoyed this it made me stay up late last night and i was reading at work (please dont tell my boss) because it was good. the author really did a good job showing the heinous crime, showing the mom as straight crazy and being real with loss, death and everything in between. I think more of <spoiler> Danny being a perv </spoiler> would have solidified the story better but i really liked it. I would have loved a WHY the killer did it.. but that's a personal desire. I loved the epilogue and i think i needed the epilogue after this rough story.

Susan is on her way to witness the execution of her daughter’s killer that occurred 20 years ago when she stumbles upon evidence that may point to someone else being the murderer. That’s the premise of The Necklace, a decent, if somewhat improbable thriller that holds your interest. This is a quick moving book, keeps the characters and the fluff to a minimum, and hooks you emotionally from the very first pages. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was fully involved with this story and the author really drew me in. so much so that I felt compelled to reach the end. Lots of suspense and the character traits were spot on. Sadly capital punishment still exists in many places, and situations like this should cause jurisdictions to reconsider capital punishment as a suitable closure to a crime committed.

This isn't my usual kind of read, but the first chapter hooks you and doesn't let go. The main character, Susan, has a hold on you, you feel her pain, her anguish, and determination the whole way through. You can't help but empathise with her struggle. A good read, that stays with you after you finish.

Great story of a mother's strength. Fast paced, grabbed me from the start and did not let up. Well developed and realistic characters. Quick read.

Susan Lentigo’s a small-town waitress who fought for the man who supposedly killed her daughter has second thoughts about the killer. She’ll go to great lengths to find the true killer—and he might be closer than she thinks.

The Necklace devastated me and left me breathless. It tore at my soul. I teared up more than once as we learn about Amy’s death, and even though we don’t experience the death with Amy, Susan’s emotions poured through the pages and sunk into my heart.

Brave and fearless, Susan wasn’t afraid to follow her heart—and even question it.

Being gaslight multiple times, Susan is not afraid to follow her gut feeling until the bitter end. And I was here for it. We stan a woman who is strong enough to believe in herself, yet also be flawed.

A realistic yet flawed character, Susan shows us that sometimes we accept things as they are without questioning them. Sometimes when you’re with someone, you can’t notice their flaws or you refuse to acknowledge them. That’s what makes Susan a great character: she’s able to rise above these flaws and recognizes the truth.

Now, after reading all of that, you might be wondering why I rated this 3.5 stars instead of 4 or 5. Let me explain.

The first half of The Necklace was my favorite part, although some may disagree with me because the action came later. But that’s okay. My heart ripped in two hearing about the circumstances of Amy’s death and the aftermath.

It went at just the right pace, and the tragic feeling of loss stuck with me. But then there was…after.
After learning about Amy’s death and how it came to fruition, the hearings, etc., things just get slow, boring, and predictable.

Now I’m not saying the entire rest of the book was slow and boring. But a majority of it was predictable. The Necklace fails to add layers to the story that may have further enhanced the mystery and suspense.

The Necklace also fails to deliver on the suspense and thriller vibes. We aren’t given any scenes after the first half of the story (except for 1) that constitutes it to be a thriller story.

At the same time, the original blurb for the book seems to be a bit off.
It says that Susan must take on the FBI—but she never “takes on the FBI.” She works with the FBI to find the true killer, but she never fights them.

It was like a “glass half empty” scenario for me. On one hand, the amazing beginning crushed me. On the other, the second half nearly bored me to tears because of its predictability.

I think adding more layers to this story would have made it amazing, but all in all, this was a great thriller that I truly recommend to thriller-lovers.

It was very interesting to see how successfully the events of the past were described alternatively with and connected with events in the present. The many surprise twists of plot are well interspersed to keep the ending in doubt.