I’m not really sure what’s going on with this latest Lisa Jewell book. Usually even if I am not the biggest fan of the story, I am at least entertained by the story. This book completely fell fat flat for me.

The overarching issue with the story is that there’s nothing thrilling about it. There are no secrets held from the reader. Everything is revealed in an alternating point of view structure. You know the past as you’re leading up to the present. You know who the villain is and all of their thoughts and how they work. 

I’ll be bold here and say it’s like we got the outline of the story with all of the hidden nuggets that normally a reader enjoys trying to find out. 

It’s a gas lighting, loser, jerk of a guy pulling the hood over multiple women. And maybe it’s anti-feminist to say this out loud, but at some point, I felt at times the women deserved it? They let this guy just come into their lives and ruin it. He was very open on what he was trying to do. This caused me to have no empathy for the women characters. Which in hindsight, I think you need to enjoy this book.

The ending felt completely out of place. It felt just a mismatch, maybe rushed, not thrilling or interesting at all. 

While jotting down my thoughts here, I’m wondering if three stars is generous rating. 

The writing was still well done. I am still a huge Lisa Jewell fan. If this is your first time reading Jewell, I’d put down this book immediately and pick up one of her older books. I would not recommend this for my friends.

Stats: 368 pages – Expected publication June 24, 2025

**Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.