I picked this book up back in April, read the first two chapters, and promptly decided it was meant to be read by a campfire. I had every intention of toting it along with me for our weekends at the camper this summer. Long story short, our camper decided to become the campfire and this book, along with any other camping related plans, fell by the wayside. Thankfully, the book had not made its way to the camper just yet.

I am so glad I found my way back to this book before the end of summer! It was a great mix of suspense, spookiness, and family drama. Add in an unreliable narrator and you have the perfect Summerween read that kept me intrigued but didn't require me to sleep with the lights on (which is, for me, a good thing). While several of my suspicions were correct, the layers of "something's not right here" kept me engaged and guessing. If there's one thing that often puts me off of psychological thrillers, it's the deus ex machina plot device, but Jessica did an excellent job of wrapping up all of the different layers in a way that felt very cohesive and satisfying.

Save to your TBR if you love:

▪️Unreliable Narrator
▫️Small Town Secrets
▪️True Crime
▫️Ghost Stories

Thank you to @jessicarpatch @harlequinbooks @hqn_shamelessromantics and @netgalley for the #gifted eARC and finished copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

🗨️ It's "What are you reading Wednesday!" Share your current read or a book you're hoping to finish before the end of July!

TW for miscarriage, grooming, child abduction, and CSA (off-page)