My first issue with this book is the narration. Reading the book, it is hard to tell who is telling each part of the story. The narration jumps from person to person and it usually takes a few paragraphs to figure out who is telling the story. (This could have been solved by giving each chapter a character heading). Something should have been added to make this easier to follow as it detracted from the story.
Aside from the weird narration, there is also the jumping from third person to first person. There is a mish-mash of people and stories that don't all seem super-relevant. Alison goes missing and her body is found and there is no clear resolution as to what happened. What we get in this book is basically how her death affected a number of people.
Except we also get an entire backstory/biography of Clive Richardson, one of the men who was working at the resort where Alison's family stayed on Saint X (the island where she died). This just didn't seem to fit. Perhaps the author wanted to write about how a tragedy could change the life of someone that already had a hard life? This HUGE chunk just didn't fit with the way the book was marketed. I understand Claire (Alison's sister) and her quest to get answers. I understand showing how it affected her... but where are the parents in this? Why so much on Clive (some is fine, but SO MUCH?) What about more from any of Alison's friends? Not just a snippet from a teacher and her ex-boyfriend?
I think the author wrote well. But I also think that this book isn't quite what it is marketed to be. I'm not sure what this book is, actually.
Aside from the weird narration, there is also the jumping from third person to first person. There is a mish-mash of people and stories that don't all seem super-relevant. Alison goes missing and her body is found and there is no clear resolution as to what happened. What we get in this book is basically how her death affected a number of people.
Except we also get an entire backstory/biography of Clive Richardson, one of the men who was working at the resort where Alison's family stayed on Saint X (the island where she died). This just didn't seem to fit. Perhaps the author wanted to write about how a tragedy could change the life of someone that already had a hard life? This HUGE chunk just didn't fit with the way the book was marketed. I understand Claire (Alison's sister) and her quest to get answers. I understand showing how it affected her... but where are the parents in this? Why so much on Clive (some is fine, but SO MUCH?) What about more from any of Alison's friends? Not just a snippet from a teacher and her ex-boyfriend?
I think the author wrote well. But I also think that this book isn't quite what it is marketed to be. I'm not sure what this book is, actually.