This book was incredibly intriguing. I enjoyed the style of it being written backwards, beginning with now, then creeping back weeks or months at a time. I enjoyed the characters and what they got up to. I enjoyed slowly but surely changing my views on what was occurring. This book was written well in the ‘show don’t tell’ sense, in that with each revelation I was able to make new assumptions or beliefs around what was happening. This was done in a way that wasn’t always explicit, yet not so vague or subtle that you miss things.
I don’t want to give too much away, so I won’t discuss the ending, suffice to say that it was fitting.
Having finished the book and reflecting on it to write this review, I have realised a few things:
- Had the book been written in chronological order, it would have been fairly straight forward and not overly engaging or intriguing.
- The characters were not overly utilised or developed – there were a number of characters that came in purely for a bit part and left again. Or some that remained for a while yet I don’t believe were used to their full potential or even developed enough for my liking.
- A sequel could be very interesting to see where the character goes next and what else she might get up to.
Around ¾ of the way through this book I couldn’t help being reminded of The Talented Mr Ripley, so it did lose a bit of its charm with me, as I did feel I had read it all before.
A quick easy read, worth a browse but alas it delivers nothing new and is only worth an easy afternoon read in the sun.
