This book is still with me a few days later. I’m glad I could walk away from it before writing this review. 
     First and foremost, this book is beautifully written. I absolutely love every single word. The fairy tale portion that you get snippets of throughout the book definitely bleeds into the rest of the story; which is not a bad thing. 

My love for how this was written is what really pulled me in. I love the words the author chose to use. I became obsessed with every sentence. I really love that you don’t know what is at stake here, the magical realism. Others have compared this to ‘The Village’ a movie from mid 2000s and they really are twins. So if you enjoyed the movie, you’ll enjoy this book. 
     After some reflection, the beginning of the book is a waste. It was beautifully written but honestly, pretty useless. Travis’ gift doesn’t really come in play at all. The fact that the police never followed the road up to Pastoral is very confusing, considering they were searching for her/her body? I get that the author needed to set up the twist, which is pretty obvious, but it could have been done better(?) or differently. I’m not sure the answer, it just feels abrupt. 

Anyways, don’t let this short list of … criticism … lure you away from this book. Everyone should read it. It’s a perfect thriller/mystery. It’s a magical story, a magical fairy tale and magically written. It’s a five star book all the way.