Murders, memories, secrets: woven into a fast read.

Set around multiple families/friendship groups where everyone is connected to a 20 year old multiple murder. The characters were solid, the plot had great potential and for the most part the first two thirds were building depth, mystery and explanation. Unfortunately the last third felt rushed, unclear and super abrupt.

This is a pleasing enough read, a solid 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I only read about 20% of this book and then stopped. The prologue sounded fantastic, but I had to go back to it twice to make sure that I was still reading the same book. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters And the writing seemed a bit choppy for my liking.. I’m sure that, at some point in the book, the theme would’ve connected back to the prologue, and I’m hopeful that it does for new readers.

I was instantly drawn into this book with the descriptive writing and the author does a nice job delivering a story with southern flair. There were some areas that I did find rather frustrating. There are times the story is stopped and then suddenly a narrator speaks directly to the reader stating things about the characters to explain/foreshadow events. This was distracting and interrupted the flow of the story. Also, the ending was rushed and all the conflicts/character development was suddenly put on fast forward in order to wrap it all up. So much of the story was spent building on the shady characters and the criminal activities as well as a second chance romance. Then, suddenly it blows up (literally and figuratively) and everything is finished with little explanation. I felt like the book had a lot of potential and the author does a nice job of penning southern life. The story just needs more clarity and direction and less crazy mess confusion. Also, spoiler here: who spends the whole time pining over a sexy man just to marry a woman?!? The story was sensible and realistic and then- what?!?
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was all over the place. I felt like I had ADHD reading it. This book could use a hefty edit.