Ratings8
Average rating3.4
One of the New York Times Book Review's Top Ten Best Crime Novels of 2020 One of USA Today's Best Books of 2020 "[A] hypnotic debut. . . .[An] uncommonly clever whodunit." --The New York Times Book Review A thrilling debut novel perfect for lovers of Agatha Christie and The Secret History, exploring deceit, first love, and the depths to which obsession can drive us. People disappear when they most want to be seen. Jess Walker has come to a concrete campus under the flat gray skies of East Anglia for one reason: to be taught by the mesmerizing and rebellious Dr. Lorna Clay, whose seminars soon transform Jess's thinking on life, love, and Agatha Christie. Swept up in Lorna's thrall, Jess falls in with a tightly knit group of rule-breakers--until the dynamic among the friends begins to darken. When a tragedy shatters their friendships and love affairs and reveals a terrible secret, Jess must face the question she fears most: What is the true cost of an extraordinary life?
Reviews with the most likes.
I'm still not sure what exactly this books wants to say. There is a set up of a crime and a wink at Agatha Christie, but nothing gets resolved in a way that feels murder mystery lover at all.
i think the pacing of this book started out brilliantly—slow moving, beautifully described, and a decent enough cast of characters to keep me invested. and then the latter part of the book moves in, where every character that isn't a part of the main trio is sidelined and forgotten and the plot just kind of...falls apart? i'm not entirely sure how to describe it, but i wouldn't have a problem if other characters were sidelined for the sake of main characters, if the main characters had more substance to them. beautifully written though, i'll give it that much.