Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Disclaimer: Reading is all about exploring, but this Book Review does not shy away from spoiling specific scenes as this is more of a look inside the good and bad of a book.
The Analysis:
Amazing subject matter, I totally dig a good psychological thriller. Let’s Book Review it!
Heres the Blurb:
Now The Story:
Book Info:
Pages: 274
Author: H.B. Moore
Available: On Kindle
The writing came off a bit amateurish to me. It wasnt bad, the style just didn’t call out to me. That didn’t take away from the enjoyment of the book though.
The story mainly focuses on the doctor and Jess pov. I loved all the characters, even the villain. They were all intriguing in their own right. Gwen (the cop and doctors love interest) was probably the only one who came off as the weakest.
The romance portion was just okay. At times the thriller part was so good it felt like it was taking away from the main action instead of adding to it.
Major spoilers alert (we do spoilers here): I was disappointed that Jess didn’t get her memories back on her own. She needed that win and I felt like it was a missed opportunity. But I understood why the author did it from a plot standpoint.
The reveal that her brother, Charles, was a drug dealer and that was the catalyst for all this was a hard pill to swallow. He just doesn’t fit the profile. Majority of the book he’s a psychopath with controlling tendencies. No offense, those people are mailmen or insurance salesmen. Drug dealers are charming, usually smarter than people give them credit for, extroverts. On the opposite end of that spectrum, they can be slackers, easy-going, or just doing it for a side hustle. None of those things say crazy or diabolical murderers. I wouldn’t even call this a hiding in plain sight deal. This was just off.
I ended up walking away feeling like the book was unfinished. Since the action scenes were almost fade to black scenes. Everyone was arrested never to be heard of again. Important cathartic conversations between Jess, Charles, and Trevor at the end needed to be had and those were missing as well.
My peak eye-roll moment goes to the doctor. Jess reveals an infatuation with the good doctor that was to be expected. Surprisingly, he doesn’t immediately return those feelings. He lets her down as best he could. Fine, whatever, I’m okay with that. Then he returns later to give Jess a goodbye gift. I rolled my eyes, like, please sir, bye.
Now, lots of comments on Amazon and Goodreads will mention the ending. It’s missing that thriller ending most of these types of books would have. Instead, the ending is much softer and focused on romance and finding oneself again.
I read it thinking, this ending reads like, how the author wants this stuff to unfurl in real life. Versus being how it actually might.
Now, I’m the first to scream that a book does not have to have a HEA to be a good book. I especially bark against the notion that romances have to have a HEA (Happily Ever After). However, instead of feeling like all is right with the world. This ending left me confused. . .
The poor third act affected my ranking.
Story At A Glance:
Recommendation: 3 out of 5
The Ratings:
Book Cover Appeal (based on the new cover):
🍓🍓
Story & Narration:
🍓🍓🍓🍓
Romance:
🍓🍓
Character/(s) Personality:
🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓
