This mystery/thriller follows Jenna, Donnie, and Nico. Twenty-five years ago the three were all residents of Savior House - an abusive group home for teens. When the home shut down, the three split up and grew up to live successful and troubled lives. Now, when each of them survives an attempt on their life, they reunite to find out who is trying to kill them and if it has any connection to a dark event in their past.
This was a really fun, fast paced, over-the-top mystery read and I really enjoyed it. I think there is often a focus on super twisty mysteries or really dark thrillers but I really loved this sub-genre of mystery also. The opening chapters immediately immerse the reader in this world and our first introduction to these characters are them being almost killed. We don't really know them very well at this point, so we have absolutely no guesses as to who is behind these crimes. However, when the book starts out so punchy and the characters are just as over-the-top as the plot, you know you're in for a good ride.
The multi POV was done really well and I loved how the chapters are so short that it really kept the pace of the book moving. I did find the characters to be a little more like caricatures at first - the suburban mom with a secret past, the washed up rockstar, and the sleazy TV producer. However, the choice to rapidly flip through POVs and follow each of these characters on their own really allowed the reader to quickly become grounded. I love multi-POV mysteries and thrillers, but do find that if there is too much time between POV switches that it does drag down the pacing and takes me out of the story having to re-orient myself to the new POV. We do also get the occasional chapter from some of the other characters in the book which I did like. This book does use one plot device I don't love and that is conveniently having one of the POV characters not mention or think about a certain plot point while in their POV and that plot point comes up in the reveal. This just always feel overly contrived and convenient for me.
I loved the way the shared past of our 3 characters was sprinkled in throughout the book. We get little flashbacks of their time at Savior House and these flashbacks happen more and more frequently as the book progresses. I really enjoyed this method of delivering the characters' histories instead of having full chapters devoted to this past timeline. Instead, we have the characters flashing back on their own memories in a way that feels very true to the characters. This was a really great way to flesh out the 'secrets from the past' trope in a way that didn't feel heavy handed. I loved the way the mystery reveal was a mix of secrets from the past as well as more recent events. I think sometimes when a reveal is solely based on a secret from the past, it ends up feeling a little bit like it comes out of left field because the main event was so long ago. In this case, the addition of more recent events gives the overall danger aspect of the plot more weight and feels more realistic.
I enjoyed the "who's trying to kill us" central mystery part to this story, but I think it could have been better navigated from the investigation point. Our three main characters don't group together until the last 1/3 of the book and even then, they don't stay grouped together. Due to their different life paths since leaving Savior House, one character is much more adept in their investigation skills than the other two. The other two characters don't seem to be particularly interested in figuring out who it was who tried to kill them, they are content with letting the authorities handle the investigation. Sure, they have some side plots going on in their stories that become important to the overall plot, but until the point where those reveals are shown to the reader, it really feels like it is the one character pushing the plot along. I wish the friend group gathered together sooner in the story and maybe they don't fully trust each other due to their long time without contact, but I think if all 3 were actively investigating what happened to them it would have made for a more engaging read. Once all 3 do get together and start really digging into their shared past, I absolutely loved the story and the way it ended up connecting all these different threads.
Overall, this was a very fun read. Like a summer blockbuster, we had a lot of action, some over-the-top plot points, and a really snappy pace. I loved the way the secrets of the past and the character's flashbacks were utilized, but I wish the group got together sooner so we could have more of the group investigation instead of the 3 very separate plot threads for so long.
TW/CW: alcohol abuse, drug abuse, parental death, drug addiction, gambling addiction, child abuse, pedophilia, sexual assault
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. Expected publication date is March 7, 2023
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