(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a non-profit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi comes home one day with a teenage girl named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Dishevelled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal — or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.
Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated?

*2.5 stars*

This was a bit disappointing. I was all ready for a dark, psychological thriller. Instead what I got was a slow-burning mystery. Not that there is anything wrong with slow-burners - they can be sensational when they have a killer pay-off. This one didn't.

Where did it go wrong? Well, really, nothing happens. Heidi brings Willow home. Then lots of eating, baby cuddles, cleaning and other mundane things. No action. Nothing. Lots of perspective changes in the narration doesn't help trying to build tension.
The characters aren't all that great either - unless you like clichés. Heidi is a jealous housewife; her daughter Zooey seems to only be in the book to be a thorn in the side of her mother; Willow's sections were long and boring, going through her past. Just didn't captivate me. Chris, Heidi's husband, had a real-world response to Heidi bringing home a homeless child and baby...but then drifts off into the mundane as well.

Mary Kubica has written a number of books. I have read a few of them. All of them were better than this one.


Paul
ARH