Another pick from the library. I have had a really good run with some of my random library picks lately, but sadly, this one isn’t one of them.
About the Book
Allie, Stacie, Diana, Emily, and Gail have been by each other’s sides for as long as they can remember. The Fierce Five. Best friends forever. But growing up has meant growing apart. And little white lies have grown into devastating secrets.
When Gail invites the increasingly estranged friends to reunite at her Scottish cabin, it could be the opportunity to mend old wounds and heal the cracks in their friendship. But when a freak snowstorm rocks the cabin and one of the girls is found dead on the ice, their weekend away becomes a race against time – and each other – to get off the mountain alive.
And in the end, whose story can you trust, when everything was founded on lies to begin with?
~ Synopsis from goodreads
My Review
The synopsis made it sound like a creepy, closed-door mystery. I went in expecting heightened suspense, long-held secrets, resentments coming out of the closet, mounting distrust, suspicion, and a body count.
And in a way, the book was all that. But done in a very unexpected and somewhat inept way.
The story started well with police reports about a crime at the cabin. However, the story moved along too slowly. I couldn’t relate to the characters. The conversations were too samey and didn’t move the plot further. The very frequent flashbacks, written in italics, were confusing at times. I didn’t like how these women’s backstories were introduced into the novel; it slowed the plot down too much. It became boring. It seemed the only way the five could amuse themselves was by getting drunk and bickering.
The last third of the book becomes very action-packed and genuinely thrilling. The end really threw me for a loop, and I had to reread a couple of pages, as it was literally not what I was expecting at all. But I am not so sure that it’s a good thing. Thinking back on the book, starting with the title, there are small clues that indicate the conclusion the author is leading us to, but at the same time, something’s not quite there about the book. Too many open questions. Unlike an Agatha Christie, for instance, where there is complete truth laid bare at the end, here, it feels incomplete somehow.
It’s hard to explain without spoilers, but I am just going to leave it here for now.
This book might work for some people, but that incomplete feeling, and sometimes unpleasant taste left in the mouth based on some of the decisions taken by the protagonist, left me feeling rather meh about this book.
