I was drawn in by the description's promise of a "modern gothic feel" and comparison to Lisa Jewell, but although the excerpt was well written -- so much so that I'm surprised this is a debut novel! -- the characters and plot beats were off-putting to me.
I'm pretty sure I can guess how the so-called modern gothic elements will play out, but I tend to like modern gothic fiction best when it cleverly plays with the tropes upon which it is relying -- in this book, there seems to be the reliance, without so much the clever play. Even if I'm wrong and this book DOES upend the tropes in the end, all of the characters are just so irritatingly cliche so far that I'm not really interested in finding out.
I'm pretty sure I can guess how the so-called modern gothic elements will play out, but I tend to like modern gothic fiction best when it cleverly plays with the tropes upon which it is relying -- in this book, there seems to be the reliance, without so much the clever play. Even if I'm wrong and this book DOES upend the tropes in the end, all of the characters are just so irritatingly cliche so far that I'm not really interested in finding out.