This was pretty good, til I got to the end. It felt like it was one of those books that has a Massive Twist in the last few pages – something that makes you reassess everything you read already. I was eager for it. I was trying to figure out what it was the whole way through. When I couldn’t figure it out, I surmised that this Massive Twist was going to be EPIC.
There is no Massive Twist, guys.
Soz for the spoiler. Maybe you’re like, who needs a Massive Twist anyway? Well, you read it and tell me it doesn’t feel like there should be a Massive Twist. The main character, Sally, is very strange, as we’re told constantly. Her dad has just died and she tries to incinerate him in the barn because he’d told her to (he hadn’t, by the way. This felt v tenuous to me). She actually gets away with this (no idea how) and we find out more about who she is and why she’s so strange. Turns out she’s the child of a paedophile kidnapper and one of his victims. Nice!
Then, as the book goes on, we’re given more info about what happened in the past. It’s supposed to be shocking but I found it quite mild tbh. I was waiting for my Massive Twist, see. As it is, it’s an easy read and paced well. I don’t think some of the dialogue and characterisation rings true – I’m not sure that many people would actually be that tolerant of Sally’s attitude and behaviour – but it rolled along and I was entertained.
In short…
Had there been a Massive Twist I would’ve scored this higher. As it is, I was disappointed by the anticlimactic ending, so it’s a 6/10 from me