Maddie has recently suffered an accident which leaves her eye and face badly scarred. She starts to see a psychologist specializing in writing therapy to deal with the high anxiety she has had since the accident. It soon becomes clear that Maddie doesn’t feel safe and it seems like her husband Ian has something to do with that. Maddie and Ian share a son named Charlie.
The book immediately starts off with a bang as police officers are dispatched to a home where a 911 call has been made. You know right away that there has been a killing as the chapter is titled “Day of the Killing”. Upon arriving at the scene, the officer finds a large amount of blood and evidence that foul play has occurred. It is also clear that a child is in the house.
The book alternates between the past when Maddie meets Ian in Macedonia and her relationship with her best friend Jo. Maddie is in the Balkans as a part of her career as a writer, Jo is aiding humanitarian efforts in refugee camps, and Ian is a British bodyguard hired to protect in Macedonia. The story then moves through the entire time she has known Ian, with chapters in between that cover the 12 weeks leading up to the day of killing and Maddie’s time in therapy.
Unfortunately, the use of the flashbacks to Maddie and how she met Ian are too frequent and bog the story down. Only a few of the things that occur during the flashbacks are relevant to the ending of the story and the remaining ones feel unnecessary. Through the flashbacks, I found Maddie, Jo, and especially Ian to be unlikable characters. The book also sometimes switches to the perspectives of Jo and Ian which I didn’t really feel did anything for the story.
I am happy I did keep reading though because the last quarter of the book was suspenseful and well done. It follows Maddie and Ian after they move back to Maddie’s home in America and their life leading up to the day of killing.
Overall, I thought this book was ok. With removing some of the flashback scenes and expanding on the end instead (some parts felt rushed), this book could easily be bumped up to 4-5 stars. I think that some people will find the beginning to be better than I did; the book does give an interesting look at European and international culture and the conflicts that were happening in the world beginning in 2001. If this sounds like something you would like, I encourage people to pick up a copy of this book and see if you liked it more than me!
The book immediately starts off with a bang as police officers are dispatched to a home where a 911 call has been made. You know right away that there has been a killing as the chapter is titled “Day of the Killing”. Upon arriving at the scene, the officer finds a large amount of blood and evidence that foul play has occurred. It is also clear that a child is in the house.
The book alternates between the past when Maddie meets Ian in Macedonia and her relationship with her best friend Jo. Maddie is in the Balkans as a part of her career as a writer, Jo is aiding humanitarian efforts in refugee camps, and Ian is a British bodyguard hired to protect in Macedonia. The story then moves through the entire time she has known Ian, with chapters in between that cover the 12 weeks leading up to the day of killing and Maddie’s time in therapy.
Unfortunately, the use of the flashbacks to Maddie and how she met Ian are too frequent and bog the story down. Only a few of the things that occur during the flashbacks are relevant to the ending of the story and the remaining ones feel unnecessary. Through the flashbacks, I found Maddie, Jo, and especially Ian to be unlikable characters. The book also sometimes switches to the perspectives of Jo and Ian which I didn’t really feel did anything for the story.
I am happy I did keep reading though because the last quarter of the book was suspenseful and well done. It follows Maddie and Ian after they move back to Maddie’s home in America and their life leading up to the day of killing.
Overall, I thought this book was ok. With removing some of the flashback scenes and expanding on the end instead (some parts felt rushed), this book could easily be bumped up to 4-5 stars. I think that some people will find the beginning to be better than I did; the book does give an interesting look at European and international culture and the conflicts that were happening in the world beginning in 2001. If this sounds like something you would like, I encourage people to pick up a copy of this book and see if you liked it more than me!