I took an instant dislike to this book when I read the first lines and found it was written in the present tense. I wouldn’t have bought it if I had known.

I persevered and finished it as the story was quite good. Also, some chapters were written in the past tense which were easier to read without the intrusive clunkiness of the present tense. These occasional chapters were also set in the past and gradually told us the backstory.

Using the present tense wasn’t the only gimmick. Different chapters were written from different people’s perspectives, some in the first person, some in the third person. More than one character was narrating in the first person. It was all a bit of an intrusive mishmash as far as I’m concerned. I kept finding myself wondering why it was done and whether it added anything to the book. I don’t think it did. It merely annoyed me.

Certain parts of the plot were guessable, other parts, towards the end in particular, without giving away the storyline, were rather preposterous. The basic ideas behind the plot were good but it just lacked refinement. There were several ‘revelations’, twists I suppose, but I felt indifference on reading them, perhaps because they weren’t unexpected or perhaps because I just didn’t care enough.

Without all the gimmicks I think I would have enjoyed it so much more.

I bought this book for a great price after reading the reviews. Definitely worth buying. I couldn’t get enough of the story. Read it in 2 days because I didn’t want to put it down. Looking forward to reading Claire Douglas’ next book out in 2020.

Amazing! So many twists...devoured this in two days!!