Oh I wanted to love this one - or at least enjoy it. Unfortunately, this one did just not end up working for me. Laurie was a reasonably likable character but there were so many conspiracies and cults and pretty much all the main characters had someone who was trying to kill them. I read another book recently that had kind of the same thing going on but while that was a fun roller coaster of a read this one just kind of dragged on with things just getting worse and worse for the main characters. The villain from Laurie's past was in particularly unbelievable since he didn't seem particularly bright or particularly charismatic but seemingly he was a master criminal with followers willing to literally set themselves on fire at his order. I finally hit the point where I just couldn't read anymore

Suspenseful storytelling ensures you will be captivated from the beginning and lose yourself in an interesting mystery.

In the summer of 1970, actress Elaina Styles, her husband and their son’s nanny are victims of a gruesome murder. Decades later, a movie is being filmed about the cult like killings. Hired to work as caterer during filming, Laurie is running from her own demons. When a number of tragic events begin to plague the production, Laurie is determined to solve the mystery.

Unnecessarily bogged down with details and confusing. This was just a meh for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Books and Pinnacle for providing a digital copy in return for an honest, unbiased review.

Very intense, complicated plot with lots going on. Difficult to attach to the main protagonist as vmost of her problems were of her own making. Nonetheless this was a thriller with multiple murders.

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

In July 1970, actress Elaina Styles was slain in her rented Seattle mansion along with her husband and their son's nanny. When the baby's remains were found buried in a shallow grave close to a hippie commune, police moved in—only to find all its members already dead in a grisly mass suicide.
Now, decades later, a film about the murders is shooting at the mansion. On-set caterer Laurie Trotter ignores gossip that the production is cursed. But then people start dying…
As Laurie digs deep into what happened all those years ago, the truth emerges more twisted than any whispered rumor, as a legacy of brutal vengeance reaches its terrifying climax…

In a market dominated by average thriller novels, it is always nice to find something that goes beyond that, something that breaks the mold of "crime, investigation, solution." And Kevin O'Brien does just that in this clever thriller novel.

I am not always a fan of the "40 years earlier..." style of novel. Sometimes I think it is overdone and authors get caught up trying to piece the current story with the older narrative. This book doesn't suffer from that at all. The author ties the threads together perfectly, while leaving enough rope there for us eager readers to try and solve for ourselves.

My only real gripe with this book was that I thought, at times, the author was trying to put too many red herrings, suspects and characters - there was a time or two when I had to put the book down and work out what was going on. Some may think that's a good thing - but I drop out of the story if I have to do that and I lose the suspense and tension the author was creating...

Overall, this thriller was a cut-above the pack and I recommend it highly!


Paul
ARH

The book was way too confusing for me . He needed to work on the. Plot. I usually like this authors books