This was very much a case of right book, right time. I needed something fast-paced and twisty that would absorb me fully and let me focus on the characters’ trials and tribulations. And this book delivered exactly what I needed!
The book follows Evie Porter, except that is not her real name. And the whole history she has spun for her boyfriend Ryan is not true. Evie and Ryan’s completely coincidental meeting was also anything but coincidental. But Evie is not scamming Ryan becasue she wants to, this is her job. Evie, again not her real name but the name I’m going to use for the sake of ease, is employed by a mysterious Mr. Smith. He sends her out on missions, ones where she has to assume a new identity, and then given a task to complete. It is made clear that Evie is on thin ice with her employer, and this is her chance to make things right with them.
That is a very rough summary of what the back of the book told me, and I thought that sounded cool and fun. And it is! It started out as a lot of fun because I love a good heist story, and one of the things I love about heists is all the planning that goes into them, and watching all these moving pieces come together. While this isn’t a heist, it is a con, and there were a lot of moving pieces that the book detailed Evie putting together.
And then the twists started. And kept going. I loved it. The book moves fast and doesn’t give the characters or the reader a whole lot of breathing room. Honestly, it just kept going, and I just kept reading because I had to see what happened next, that there may have been a few logical leaps. And by the end, there had been so many twists, I started to see some coming, just out of “surely there must be more-!” and there was.
The novel is very plot-driven and some of the characters are just kind of painted in brief brush strokes and exist to help the narrative. Which in this case was fine, with me. I was highly entertained by this novel, and all the twists and turns it took. I enjoyed the way Evie plotted and planned, and put everything into motion.
The book jumps between the present timeline and then details Evie’s past, showing how she picked up the skills that allowed her to get to the present. It also showcases her relationship with Mr. Smith and gives details of past jobs she’s done. This was great and didn’t slow the plot down at all, the backstory being as entertaining as the preset day one.
Overall, I enjoyed this. I was in a bit of a reading slump and this was the fast-paced thriller I needed to help me (hopefully) get over that!