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I genuinely feel like I say this all the time, but I’m not your ideal thriller book reader, and that’s because I internalize every single thing I read.
To be very honest, I don’t think I have actually ever read a thriller book and not inserted myself into the story in one way or another, and that’s what makes thriller books very immersive for me – because I get to really feel what the characters are feeling. And because of that, my day could either be very messed up or amazing.
Now, I picked this book on a whim a couple of years ago and then dropped it because I just felt like the start was a little too slow. But then I gave it a second chance this year, and let me tell you, this is genuinely one of my favorite thriller books of all time.
If you’ve read some of my other posts where I recommend thriller books, you’ll see that I always say I just do not read thriller books as a personal rule because, just as I said earlier, I do not know how to be chill about anything I read, and it will absolutely consume me.
One thing that drew me into this book right off the bat was the writing. It’s not very often that I read a book where the writing feels personal but at the same time distant – where we get to see the whole panoramic view of the story while still feeling the characters’ emotions.
And I feel like an author who is able to balance this is simply amazing at the craft. Let me tell you, the prose is easy to follow – it’s simple while at the same time having that necessary depth that will keep you hooked to the page. And already, I know I want to read everything this author has written.
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This story takes place in a very backwater town. Just as in every other town, there are power dynamics, and the interactions between every character are loaded.
But what is key to note is that in all these loaded interactions, it’s easy to really see how the ties between them are created and broken. It was just this very beautiful mosaic that shows both the cruelty and beauty of being human.
Even more spectacular was the fact that, while ordinary small-town thrillers with a murder at their core will focus on an investigation to nail the perpetrator, this book was more about our protagonist satisfying her curiosity about the life she was handed at birth.
And it ultimately became a story about the tenacity of human connections and about how we choose what is important to us.
I’m not the biggest fan of dual-timeline books, but I’ve read a few that quite struck me. And to be very honest, this is the first thriller dual-timeline book I have ever read, and I feel like I’m going to be more into this from now on.
In this book, we follow Lucy, our protagonist, whose friend is murdered, and in the previous timeline, we follow her mother, Lila, who answers a job ad, comes to this small town, and has her life irrevocably changed.
This is a town that will consume a person, and that’s exactly what it does to both female leads.
It was fascinating to see how everyone operated in this ecosystem of carelessness and a sort of wickedness that was laced with a devilish selfishness.
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And I genuinely feel that this also showed us how a human heart can be driven to the pits of wickedness when cornered.
For the bad guys in this book, it’s very much a situation of sinking together and floating together. We get to see the way they hold each other tight, and really, from the title alone, you know that what ties many people together in this book is blood.
But above that, there is mutual culpability – when they all become involved in a crime, they all hold the same stake over each other’s heads.
One thing that I always appreciate in these small-town thriller books is seeing how every generation has its secrets and how all these secrets build on each other.
More importantly, it highlights the all-consuming power of a rumor, and this is something Lucy has to live under. In fact, this is what spurs her on to find out more.
She wants to know more about her mother, and in digging up her mother’s past – which she finds out is linked to her friend’s death – she realizes that the people she holds dearest to her heart might not be who she actually thought they were.
Weeks after reading, I’m still thinking about this book. What would you do if the weight of blood was invoked against you – and against your very own conscience?
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