The first book I read after starting my virtual book club. I was scrolling through Amazon and thought this looked interesting. I've always been a sucker for a good suspenseful thriller and with 'INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER" on the front, I thought I would give it a go.
It follows mother, Laurel Mack 10 years after the disappearance of her beloved 15 year old daughter, Ellie Mack. And I can tell you, this thriller kept me turning every page quicker and quicker. I finished it in less than 2 days!
MY RATING:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5
As any mother would, she became obsessed with finding her beautiful daughter. In the last 10 years, it tore her away from her husband and her 2 other children. Even though its not right, its implied that Ellie was her favorite. She never had the same connection with her daughter, Hannah, as she did with Ellie, which kind of broke my heart for Hannah, as I can relate to it in my own family, but as mother, can relate to Laurel's connection with Ellie. Ellie seemed to have it all: a loving mother, a cute boyfriend, great grades and a bright future. Who would ever want to hurt her? Or did she run away?
Fast forward 10 years later, Laurel is just going through the motions of life. She lost her husband, who has moved on to a different woman. Her son lives with his girlfriend, and her daughter Hannah, who even though she cleans her apartment for her weekly, doesn't seem to want to have a real relationship with her.
Then she meets Floyd. Oh, Floyd. He just seems perfect, doesn't he? Charming, handsome and eventually, great sex. Who can complain with that? What I always found interesting is when he took her around his daughters, Sara-Jade who is grown and lives with her mother and Poppy who is 9 years old and lives with him , she always feels kind of uneasy around Poppy. And what I couldn't figure out is why she always saying that Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie. Was it just a weird coincidence?? I didn't understand.
SPOILERS BELOW!!!!!!
If you haven't read this book and you still want to......STOP READING! I'm going share my thoughts of the ending.
So, Ellie's tutor? That BIII was f**king crazy. It amazes me that some people are capable of holding someone out of their own will. That biii kept her in a nasty basement. And drugged her to impregnate her just so that FLOYD wouldn't leave her. My first thought when it was mentioned that Sara-Jade didn't like her was "TRUST YOUR KID!!! THEY CAN ALWAYS SPOT THE CRAZIES BEFORE YOU CAN!!" Oh, and she left her in the basement to die after she got what she wanted, which wasn't really what she wanted because who waits till their 40 to lose their virginity? Sis.....did you not realize that that man did not want you? You had to go looking for him and he just wanted you for sex. Come on now.
What really surprised me......when everything starts falling into place. Floyd had a plan, which I don't fault him for, but he killed that bii! And kept her in the freezer! Bahahaha, bitch got what she deserved. Ellie did not deserve to die in the basement like that. That actually made me cry.
In the end, Floyd kills himself once everything is revealed, which is heartbreaking for Laurel because she really seemed to come out of her shell once she started seeing him. Her and her ex-husband do eventually get closure for their daughter's disappearance and ultimately her death once the police find some of her remains when that sociopath just eventually dumps them somewhere and honsesly doesn't even do a good job in trying to hid it. Laurel gets a granddaughter. Yes...a granddaughter. That was nuts. Needless to say, I loved the twists and turns of this novel and it won't be the last book I read from this author.
Next book:
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
Add your comment