Carla

Deleted stars for an otherwise enjoyable read—and a well-narrated one—for two reasons:

* an unbelievably too-pat and happy ending—people don’t behave that way. (Source: I have advanced degrees in psychology and counseling, with post-grad work in these subjects of grief and loss, and crime.) I was really enjoying myself until then, and the book ran off the road.

* the author thanks Ashley Flowers in the acknowledgments, an unethical podcaster and author. Many details can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CrimeJunkiePodcast/comments/rb0ihp/flowers_not_just_plagiarism/ For me at least, the professional network an author claims is important. It speaks to their work.

So I won’t be reading any more of the author’s work—there are just too many other books waiting for me.

Edit to add a third reason upon reflection:

* approaching the grande finale, I could barely tell two of the characters apart. They had extremely similar thoughts, feelings, and motivations. Despite having a different narrator for each, they might have well been the same.

Lowered my rating to two stars.

Read in one large gulp, don’t mind the pun, during this outrageous flare-up I am having, and it made me step outside the pain for a little while.

Good God, what a ride. Add all the expletives.