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.

I am BLOWN AWAY!! This book MUST be on your tbr for 2021. It was so so so good.
The Necklace is gripping, emotional, action packed, and full of complex characters. Susan is such a cool tough mom. It's a page turner, at one point I tried to read less of The Necklace so I could spend more time with the book but I couldn't put it down. Bravo to Matt Witten for such a great novel!

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC copy of The Necklace!

When Susan Lentigos daughter is murdered, her whole world falls apart. But as the execution of the killer approaches, Susan makes her way to North Dakota to watch justice be served. With nothing more than a dollar, she begins a journey that has her question the guilt of the man that’s been behind bars for the last twenty years. With the help of some new and old friends, Susan tries to get to the bottom of the new found questions.

This book is the epitome of a page turner. I was absolutely captivated by the story- the pace and the twists and turns were perfect. Fantastic read!

Such a fast-paced read! From the first chapter I was hooked and although it took a while for the premise of the book to truly begin, the uncertainty regarding Amy's killer, I enjoyed all the twists throughout. I worried that it might be too simple, once Susan had begun to suspect that Danny might be responsible, and was glad to find that the story still had a couple more turns before it came to it's conclusion.

Susan's emotion, as a mother who has lost her daughter was real and raw and I truly wanted the resolution for her so that she could rest, knowing that the truth had finally come out. Each of the characters felt truly real and flawed and I greatly enjoyed how they were each portrayed in the story.

This book would have been five stars had it not been for the unnecessary romance at the end. There was no need for it in the story and I'm just glad that it didn't take up too much of the book. Regardless of this minor detail I was truly satisfied with the ending, not too predictable or outlandish, and would highly recommend this to mystery/thriller lovers or those wanting to get into the genre as it was a fast-paced, easy read!

Very well developed characters and an extremely engaging story. Well thought out and very suspenseful story line that keeps the reader guessing until the final twist! This is the book to read this year! Highly recommended!

4/5 :)

Personally, I thought the beginning of the book was a little slow and too tragic and a little hard to read about. Although that's probably just the cruel reality…

I also thought something was going to happen with Marla and Sophie because I felt like mentioning them that one time was going to have more purpose. I kept waiting for them to pop up, but I guess that’s the only time they’d ever see each other…

Even though the action comes in later in the book, it doesn't stop once it's here. It keeps you wanting more and more until the very end.

To be perfectly honest, the ending was pretty predictable if you thought of it enough… Maybe I read too many mysteries, but it wasn’t as much of a twist I would’ve liked it to be. I almost gave up my theory in the middle but let’s pretend I was right the whole time. :)

I kind of wanted to hear from the killer because it’ll be interesting to see why he did it cause why not?

In my opinion, chapter 42 was the absolute best. Seriously. And chapter 43 makes this book complete. Oh! And let's not forget the perfect epilogue too!

There's just some mature content to look out for (but this is adult fiction, so I guess that's pretty self-explanatory…)

Everything I didn't mention was either good or very good. :)

Overall, a very good book with some minor details that could be better. I would definitely recommend it to all the thriller and mystery lovers!

01/26/21

thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for being able to read this in advance in return for a review. Its The story is told between two time frames - - 20 years ago and present day. And is the story of Susan a small town waitress. Her daughter was kidnapped and killed 20 years ago and it is now time for the killer to be executed. Although Susan is now not quite sure if he did it. And if he didn't, it means the killer is still out there.

There were parts of this that I had a hard time with ... towards the end there is a section where susan goes to witness the execution and walks through death row past prisoners. I'm not so sure I believe that . Then again I don't really know. I also find it a bit unbelievable that she would break into danny's house to steal the necklace.
having said all that, the ending is a bit predictable but it still made for a good read. Just not a 4-5 star for me.

This was a thrilling roller coaster of a story. Susan lost her daughter, when she was kidnapped and murdered. Now twenty years later Susan is taking a road trip to witness the execution of the man convicted of the crime. As she makes her way there she stumbles across new evidence that changes everything she thought was true. Now she is in a race against time to find out the truth and maybe saving an innocent man from being executed. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Book Review Time

Thanks NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for the advanced copy!

The Necklace by Matt Witten

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

20 years ago Amy lost her life. Now The Monster is on death row awaiting his execution. Amy’s mother Susan has been waiting 20 years for this moment. Will it be everything she wanted?

Pros:
-I loved the flashbacks to 20 years ago to learn how everything went down during the investigation.
-I loved that it had me almost playing detective the whole time with Susan.

Cons:
-The writing style just seemed a little off the first few chapters, I believe it was just getting the reader used to going from past to present, and then it ended up getting much better.
-I didn’t care for the epilogue in all honesty. I think one was needed, but this one actually threw me off. Obviously can’t go into details without spoilers, but I didn’t like it.

My thoughts:

So honestly the first few chapters were kind of boring. You meet Amy, then you know she dies by chapter 2 which you also know if you read the synopsis. Just nothing major really seemed to happen. It’s all just factual. Then the end of chapter 5 has me like. “Okay Matt Witten. Okay. You got me intrigued now!” And then it almost had ‘Girl On The Train’ vibes. I couldn’t tell who “the monster” was, and then I’d guess and be wrong. Then guessing who really did it or didn’t do it. Then I’m thinking Susan is the crazy one and she did it. And seriously going back and forth every few chapters on what I thought. And then the end you were like dropping your jaw on the ground! I will say if you are easily triggered my murders involving children, this isn’t for you. It deals with some heavy gruesome stuff. Overall it was a crazy rollarcoaster ride and a great thriller that by the half way point I couldn’t put down because I HAD TO KNOW!

The Necklace is and interesting crime story about the kidnap and murder of a little girl, based on true events. I found it hard to warm to the main character Susan, the mother, but love the character Kyra. With thanks to NetGalley for my digital copy.

The Necklace is a gripping murder mystery about a mother's love, deadly secrets, and the elusive truth. Susan Lentigo has been grappling with her daughter's violent death for twenty years and hopes to find relief at the execution of the man convicted of the crime. However, on her journey there, she discovers new evidence that throws everything into doubt. Susan must rely on her instincts, her strength, and unlikely allies to avenge her daughter's death by discovering the truth.

Witten crafts a tightly-wound novel that keeps the reader guessing and engaged until the final moments. Even when I was convinced I knew who the killer was, I had no idea how the protagonist and her friends would catch him. Susan, a working class waitress, is a relatable protagonist who is easy to empathize with. Whether she's searching her memory for clues or searching for a place to sleep on a cold night - her tenacity is admirable. Simply put, you want her to win.

Although the story is served well by such a likable protagonist, the supporting characters left something to be desired. The fast pace of the story meant that we didn't get to spend as much time with them and subsequently they felt more like footnotes than true allies. However, they served the narrative well and their relationships with Susan led to a satisfying epilogue of an ending.

Although I would recommend this thriller, I would do it with a note of caution due to the subject matter. Susan's daughter, Amy, is sexually assaulted before she is murdered. This fact is repeated throughout the novel in varying detail by multiple characters. At times, I didn't think rehashing the grisly details was necessary for the scene and although it was very uncomfortable to read- it didn't prevent me from enjoying the book overall. I think any potential reader should be fully aware of the subject matter before picking up this book, despite how well written it is.

CW: death, grief, murder, assault, sexual assault, pedophilia, prison

A really interesting story concept, but I don’t feel like it was executed properly. Anytime there was build up to a climax, the situation was diffused. I also think that the ending was rushed.

I found this book to be mysterious but not psychological or overly thrilling. I think this book would benefit from more suspense.

Susan Lentigo's young daughter Amy was found murdered and raped at the young age of 8 after going missing from home. 20 years later after the dissolving of Susan's and Daniel's marriage Susan takes a road trip to go view the execution of the man accused of Amy's murder.
Along the long trip Susan makes a stop at the home of her ex husband only to find his young daughter wearing a necklace similiar to one Amy made and wore and which was never found after her death. How did this young girl get the same necklace? Is the right person being executed or was someone else involved with Amy's death?
After Daniel explains the necklace with excuses Susan begins to have doubts and suspicions and tries to involve authorities but when they don't believe her she gets in touch with the past detective on the case.
I thought a lot of the plot was rather unbelievable and also the description of Amy's rape and murder was graphic and depressing. Speed read through the book to get it finished.

This was a really good read. I’ve enjoyed the rollercoaster ride. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating from me! Thank you Oceanview, Netgalley, and Matt Witten for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I always say that it's highly intelligent to include children in a thriller story. Since we all share the fear of destroying a child's innocence. This story depicted every mother's worst fear, the murder of her child, and Witten write it realistically. There is not one point in this book that you feel like Susan (the mother) is doing something irrational (considering the circumstance), which is always a blessing when an author fully understands the human psychology behind grieving.

One of the best things from this story is the back and forth timeline (days of the crime to 20 years later) which helped keep the reader intrigued the whole time. I also really appreciated that the author doesn't discuss more the crime than necessary (since some authors have the tendency to put more gore than necessary). The thing that surprised me the most about this story is the sense of community that I felt after reading since in many instances where Susan is struggling there is someone there to support her. An example is a fundraiser in the beginning.

In conclusion, the Necklace is one of the cleanest plot, tone, and dialogue wise mystery-thrillers that I have read in a while. It is making me crave more from Matt Witten. I will definitely keep an eye out for more of his works.