I really need to stop reading “thriller” novels, especially ones written by people with initials in their names, because I always end up disappointed. Also, a note to mystery/thriller/suspense writers: an ending so stupid no one could have possibly guessed it is not the same as a good twist ending.
Basically if a novel is described as “twisty”, I can conclude by now that I’ll find the “twist” insultingly stupid. This was no exception.
That being said, the book is certainly propulsive. I think that’s the problem with this genre: you of course want to know what happens next and what the mystery is. Even if it’s poorly written. Even if you hate all the characters. Even when you can tell when you begin that you’re going to hate the ending explanation. You still want to know, and you still breeze through the book because of that desire. And maybe you mistake “but I didn’t want to put it down!” with “it was good”. But I’m done with that game! DONE!
Ostensibly, this book is about a teenage girl who may or may not be dealing with Munchausen Syndrome by proxy: one or both of her parents might be making her sick to get attention. The central mystery is about whether or not she is actually sick, which of her parents is making her sick, and of course, who to trust. Meghan ends up being the only sympathetic character in the whole narrative, and at least her stupid choices are easily explained by her being a child in a very terrible situation. But every other character is either an awful person or too stupid to live. And when the big reveal is finally…revealed, I wanted to throw my book across the room, but it was on a Kindle so I couldn’t. Like I said, insultingly stupid is not the same as “a good, unexpected twist”.