The Wieland family is one of the richest in the world. They reside on an island off the coast of Maine and like many wealthy families they feel cursed. The last two of the bloodline, Clara and Teddy, are left on the island, along with Jess, Clara's best friend turned Teddy's wife. As with most wealthy families the siblings are insufferable. When videos begin to surface showing the family in a bad light the internet eats them up. But are they real?
The story is told in alternating POVs between Clara and Jess. I usually enjoy this format, but this one needed either only one POV or to add Teddy in the mix. Clara and Jess felt like the same person to me. This is brought up at the end of the story and ties into the idea of deep fakes and AI becoming more prevalent in society. How can we spot what is real and what is manufactured by artificial intelligence? Often you know something feels off, but you can't put your finger on what it is and that is how this story felt to me.
If you enjoy psychological thrillers that are a bit claustrophobic this is the perfect read for you! While it was not my cup of tea I will still check out other books but this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I found this to be quite slow moving for the first half, not much happened and I couldn’t quite figure out the direction of the story. I felt like the twist with the holograms was fairly easy to figure out but I didn’t love the way it all came together. I also found that Teddy’s character lacked a lot of depth and development. Very interesting storyline and concept though!

This was totally suspenseful and utterly character driven. I really enjoyed this one and this definitely won't be my last Sligar book.

Unfortunately, I wasn't crazy for this one, I never finished a chapter wanting to keep reading, desperate to find out what happens next. I couldn't connect to any one character and felt not much happened until the very, very end. What I did feel most out of this was the terrifying aspect of how strong of a hold the internet has on the world as well as technology in general and what may come of it. The storyline was okay, and I am going to leave it at that since I am not one for giving negative reviews. Two and a half stars rounded up because the writing was well done.

Thank you, Netgalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for this ARC.

Holy shit this book was an awesome ride. I loved it. I thought the characters, plot, and scenery were perfectly crafted. I liked that it look place in Maine too. I only deducted a star because I thought the disordered eating was a bit much, and I’m not even triggered by the topic.

The Wielands are one of America’s most prominent families — known for their wealth, status, and, most famously, for the curse that has bedeviled them for generations. Clara and her older brother Teddy grew up in a small Maine town in the home that has long been in their family, known as Vantage Point. Their parents were seemingly the latest victims of the family curse, dying in a freak accident fourteen years ago.

Now, Clara and Teddy’s lives seem steady. Teddy married Clara’s best friend Jess, and Clara and Teddy are working together at the family foundation. Teddy decides to run for Senate, and at first the campaign gets off to a good start. But then shocking videos of Clara leak online, threatening the campaign. Clara, though, can’t remember filming any of them. And no one believes her when Clara tries to convince them the videos are deepfakes. Teddy and Jess suspect that Clara is spiraling. Clara is sure that the videos are the curse coming for her. Who is right? And what will be left of the Wielands once the truth is revealed?

This was an interesting and creative novel, deftly combining a thriller with an insightful examination of family, friendship, and ambition. It also explores timely themes of how to know what is real in the modern age.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to net galley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This fast paced thriller centred around a familial curse quickly became a book I couldn't put down. Exploring concepts and themes such as mental health, addiction and the very real threats posed to us by the advancement of technology, Vantage Point was easily one of my top reads of 2024.

The characters, the pacing and the red-herrings provided had me on the edge of my seat and although I wasn't one hundred percent sold on the ending, understood the author's choice and felt that it fit with the rest of the book.

The inclusion of the curse and the way it was fed to the reader was a perfect addition and really added a bit of a unique twist to the novel.

the drama and intrigue kept me hooked in the first half but then as the truth was revealed all thrill and surprise were just lost... i kept waiting for another twist but that was just it? tagging this a gothic thriller seems misleading

An interesting concept to combine technology and, essentially, the torture of an innocent person. I wish there was more of a punch when it came to the climax of this story.

Sligar has delivered a fun, fast-paced techno-thriller with Vantage Point. If you're someone who enjoys stories about dramatic uber-rich families (and their equally dramatic downfalls) this one will be right up your alley. I really enjoyed the premise, as well as the remote Maine island setting, and the book certainly managed to keep my attention. However there were certain aspects of the book that just didn't work well for me. The book delved more towards sci-fi in the second half, which could have been great if it were fleshed out a bit better. But as is, I just couldn't buy into what the author was selling with some of the technology involved. I also felt like the 'family curse' element was not utilized well. Despite being a major plot point, the book fails to introduce many members of the family in question, which makes the whole concept feel very removed. I also struggled to accept the motives behind one of the main characters actions, although that's all I'll say, in order to stay away from spoilers.

All together, this book was a bit 'take it or leave it's for me. If you need to kill some time with a quick thriller that doesn't require too much deeper thought, this book will do just fine.

"Take Me Apart," Sara Sligar's first novel, was one of my favorite books of the year. It was so well written and kept me captivated until the very last page. I've been anxious for her next book and am so thankful to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This book dives into the dark world of deepfakes and their effect on those targeted. An affluent political family becomes entangled in this dangerous web and suffers a tragic aftermath.

Sligar is a very talented writer but there were some shortfalls in this book. None of the characters were likable and there was too much focus on the tech side of the deepfakes. I am hopeful that her next book will return to the level of intrigue that I loved in "Tear Me Apart."

All I needed to know to pick up this book was that Sara Sligar wrote it (I'm a fan of her debut novel!), and once I'd picked it up I couldn't put it down. Moody and atmospheric, it's a family drama squarely within the rich-people-behaving-badly subgenre—a favorite of mine! It's also a page-turning thriller in which it's hard to pinpoint the true threat: Is it the family curse? Someone making deepfake videos? The family members themselves? D, all of the above? This kept me on my toes the whole time, and I loved it.

first of all, thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the arc!

this was sharp and well-written, and certainly something that will have me thinking for a while about the implications of our evolving technology - the stuff about deepfakes is creepy and fascinating, and beyond that, it was a pretty tightly done thriller. the characters felt fairly real and i did find myself wanting to know what was going to happen.

there's something that's keeping me from rating it at a 4, although i'm not sure what it is. the ending is fairly satisfying. maybe it's the pace? a lot happens in the last 5-10% of the book, which is pretty standard for thrillers, but idk. it's missing an element to get that extra star.

overall, though, like i said: well-written and sharp! definitely see the comparisons to succession and megan abbott's novels.

I liked certain parts of this a lot. I enjoyed the plot about the videos and the mystery behind them. I enjoyed Clara's character and her eating disorder back story. The story itself was slow moving and I had a hard time getting into it, besides those portions.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Weiland family own the Vantage Point estate on a small island off the Maine coast. Rumor has it that there is a curse on the family. When Clara, her brother Teddy, and his wife Jess move into the mansion, bad things begin to happen. Is it the curse or the self-fulfilling prophecy of the "family curse"?

This is a modern-day gothic novel with all the nuances and atmosphere of a vintage tale set in our technological time. The writing is good, the story is entertaining, and the ending is satisfying.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Mystery with a scifi element that just felt both silly and/or unbelievable

The Wielands, an uber-wealthy WASP family who have a compound on an island off Maine, have a history of dying in unusual circumstances in the month of April, leading some to believe they are cursed. The current generation is Teddy, a successful businessman now running for the Senate, and his younger sister Clara who has suffered many mental health issues since she witnessed her parents drowning.

Just as Teddy’s campaign seems to be running smoothly, two videos appear that push it completely off track. Clara is featured in both of them and it sends her spinning further out of control, particularly when she then thinks she sees her parents being swept out to sea all over again.

Much of this is nicely built up and we see Clara’s spiraling deterioration over the years through both her eyes and those of Jess, her best friend, who is now married to Teddy. But the present day shenanigans, which start promisingly enigmatically, ultimately end up being ludicrous, not just in terms of what actually happens but also the very weak motive behind it. Similarly, Teddy, who has been a steady rock for both Clara and Jess for decades, suddenly, and unbelievably, becomes a completely different character in the space of a few days.

I was caught in a bit of a bind here. While Clara is having hallucinations, I wanted there to be a rational explanation for it but once I got it, I found it wholly unsatisfying and a little ridiculous. The author warns us that it’s not too far off reality (and I’ve seen Abba Voyage, so I know) but it just doesn’t seem feasible that even with the AI technology, as not really explained here, this would be do-able. So, not really recommended.

Thanks to MCD and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

This was an interesting thought experiment and devolved exactly as I expected. The author did well in depicting the sheer disbelief one would display if approached with this theory.

The characters felt very one dimensional. They read as caricatures and never made a decision that I didn’t see coming. The villain had no depth and I was very confused why he would admit anything to Clara - the author pinned it on ego, but I think it was just obvious plot progression at that point.

This was a story of tell, don’t show. Not my favorite but a worthwhile read.

This novel was just pretentious honestly. The ending was lackluster and seemed to end too quickly especially when there was a lot of build up. I was never satisfied at the end of any chapter nor was this ever “something good has happened to the character, albeit very small”. it was just straight tragedy after tragedy after tragedy and it ended in tragedy. like even with novels that are on a down ward slope, there are some good parts. can’t say the same about this one. i ended this novel feeling heavy and saddened and i don’t think that’s the novels’ intentions but here we are. also, it was so slow and redundant. so when the ending happened at such a fast pace, i got whiplash. i will say, i do like the authors writing and how she weaves in her prose but she would have been better writing a literary novel instead of a “gothic” thriller?

This book was very different, it read like a suspenseful read but I felt something was a little OFF. We meet Clara, the troubled sister, Teddy the responsible brother and his wife and Clara’s best friend Jess. Teddy is getting into politics, just has to be the due to full politician’s wife, and Clara is going through a lot. Not only if she living with the fact that she thinks her family is cursed, because something always happens some of their family members from years ago, it’s like there is a bad luck looming around this family. But Clara gets exposed, and this can really hurt the family legacy and what Ted has been working hard for.

There is a mention of “deepfakes” and holograms, and someone is out there to ruin this family. So we get two different POV’s, between Jess and Clara, and what led to this point, it is a page Turner, and you want to keep on because you want to find out what’s really going on. Unfortunately, the book was not for me, I felt like I was left with more questions than answers here, but the plot was amazing though, it was good enough that it kept me invested in the book, I just wish the ending was a little bit different.

5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @fsgbooks for the ARC of @sarasligar's book "Vantage Point". I heard about this book because @janellebrownie mentioned it in her stories a month or so ago. And since I like her books, I thought I should check it out. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read the book and the timing was quite incredible. It's almost like a ripped from the headlines story line with the AI used against the characters. It definitely makes you think twice whether your experiences are real or if someone has manufactured them. I really enjoyed reading the story from the perspectives of the characters. It added to the story line to know what's happening from many angles.

Highly recommend!! Just a little more than 2 weeks from hitting store shelves.

#netgalley #VantagePoint