Kate White
3.5 (I tentatively gave it a 4.0)
Very, very good suspense book. I think I'll do this whole thing as spoilers. But if you haven't read it yet and you like suspense, read it. You may decide Kate White is a new favorite...
Spoilers...
I really liked - almost loved - this book. But I felt how I do during many psychological thrillers: the author sort of gives up a bit and decides the plot is complex and tricky (and until they give up, it's amazing!) But I feel like they've given us what they can and don't try even harder.
To Kate White's credit, I was convinced the killer could have been one of a half dozen people. To still fee like this 3/4 of the way through a book is a good sign. Really good.
Here are my observations:
- First, I'm happy that Alexis didn't have to die. Although I find it interesting that she was never brought up again since it was a pivotal moment - Phoebe's trip out to see her "a few hours away".
- I feel like I'm being sold though on the dumber part of Phoebe - like she is supposedly such an intelligent woman so why doesn't she realize that EVERYONE should be making her suspicious (Mark cuz he's secretive and a jackass; Glenda because she's not who she used to be; Duncan because he lies more often than he's honest; the due who finally is guilty because he's all of a sudden the most helpful, nicest guy in town; the reporter from the paper cuz he's a total prick; The female teachers, the head of campus security, the cops ... everyone.I get it! That's what kept me hooked not knowing who it could be but I would have loved to put faith in to Phoebe and had her on to someone at least.
-Sad that Hutch had to die because he was honestly the good guy
- How can Phoebe KEEP GOING BACK TO THAT HOUSE? I mean COME ON! She would go to a hotel, go anywhere but that dreadful shit hole that she just waits for someone to invade. By just the second time, that story was tired.
- I wanted to know the connection between Hutch's backyard and the road ... like someone's house was off of it; it felt unsettled to me.
- So how did Mark actually know enough about the Fortunes to leave that message? Glenda said she never told him.
- Speaking of Glenda. A role model to be sure toward the beginning of the book but by the end? Come on, she's going to hang out with Mark who - and this is hers/Phoebe's thoughts - he ignores his young child, slept with a co-ed, held a gun to MURDER Glenda's BFF. You're gong to tell me she still sees something in him? NO, NO, NO.
- Someone call the cops for fucks sake. I got so tired of hearing everyone say, "let's hold off", "let's wait until..." etc. Red Flag!
- And the fact that everyone that had authority to tell Phoebe to stay off the case, DID. And then why didn't she? She was like a Nancy Drew pest by the end. (And I love Nancy Drew, but now I understand why everyone thought she was meddling.)
- Kudos to Kate White for details like Duncan shaving his beard so OF COURSE we were waiting for someone to identify him at the Cat Tails as a guy with a beard! I was waiting for that through 90% of the book! :)
- Did anyone think the girl at the end - Jen? - was trying to use Phoebe as her 5th circle (4th?) victim? The one where she was to find someone and use them to get something. Yes, of course we were to think this.
- What about the pink scarf of the Sixes member? Was it stolen? Or not? I got confused.
- And why have the doctor at all? That seems pretty weak that he was our link to Mark being a shady drug dealer and thus the thing tying the whole drug ring in. That seems like lazy writing. Or, you've got EVERYTHING else why get all tied up in the details kind of thing, you know?
</spoiler>
But, all in all, great read. I couldn't stop turning page, I was scared and disturbed and still am thinking about the book a day after putting it down. What else could I want?
Great job, Kate White, and I have a couple more of her books on my shelf: [book:Eyes on You|18634982] and [book:Hush|6939794] that I'm looking forward to!
Born in The United States
Website http://www.katewhite.com
Twitter katemwhite
Genre Mystery & Thrillers
URL https://www.goodreads.com/KateWhite
Kate White is the New York Times bestselling author of nine works of fiction: six Bailey Weggins mysteries and five psychological thrillers, including the most recent, The Wrong Man, and the upcoming The Secrets You Keep (March ‘17). For fourteen years she was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, and though she loved the job (and the Cosmo beauty closet!), she decided to leave in late 2013 to concentrate full time on being an author and speaker.
Her books have received stand-out reviews from many publications and she has been covered everywhere from The Today Show to The New York Times. Her debut Bailey Weggins mystery, If Looks Could Kill, was named as the first Reading with Kelly Rippa selection and soon shot to number one on Amazon. She is published in 18 countries around the world. Her next Bailey Weggins mystery will debut in October 2017.
Kate is also the editor of the recently released Mystery Writers of America cookbook, a selection of recipes from the field’s top-selling authors.
Like many mystery writers, Kate fell in love with the genre after reading her first Nancy Drew book, The Secret of Redgate Farm, and she still admires the cliffhanger chapter endings the series is known for.
In addition to writing mysteries and thrillers, Kate is the author of several very popular career books, including I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This: How to Ask for the Money, Snag the Promotion, and Create the Career You Deserve and Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do.