How did Colleen Hoover ever think up this dark and twisted tale? It is so unique, so completely shocking that it blows away every other suspense story I've ever read.
Lowen is a struggling writer when she gets an offer too good to pass up. Jeremy, the husband of successful author Verity Crawford, hires Lowen to complete Verity's series when his injured wife is unable to do so. Once Lowen arrives at their home to start compiling notes and do research, she discovers an unfinished manuscript that looks to be Verity's autobiography. What is written in those pages will horrify and haunt anyone who reads it.
So many books advertise as suspenseful thrillers, but hardly any of them cause my heart to blip even a little. (I know, I'm a stone cold reader.) But this book! There is such a deliciously creepy atmosphere that permeates throughout and it got me good. I'll admit to heart palpitations, cold clammy hands, and being startled at the smallest noises. And as the story progresses and we find out more and more, the tension ratchets up to almost unbearable levels.
There was never any hope for me. I was hooked from the very first page. There is a creativity to this story that makes it hard to look away. I've never read anything like this, not even close. As a result, every page was a surprise and I just wanted to keep going. And as the truth gets darker and more tortuous, I had no choice but to hold on for the ride of my life.
This book employs one of my favorite formats, a story within a story. I've loved pretty much every book I've come across that uses this format, and it works especially well here. The interspersing of the inner manuscript with the outer story allows us to find out what's going on at the same time that Lowen is figuring things out.
I cannot believe this is Colleen Hoover's first thriller. Reading this feels like watching a master at their craft, setting the bar higher than I ever thought possible. This story is so astonishing and unsettling and completely original. It will stay with me for a long time.
Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!
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