Four Stars

Best for:
Do you like a mystery? Do like stories told from a few perspectives? Do you like family intrigue?

In a nutshell:
Tasha and her husband Aaron do a home swap with Tasha’s sister Alice and her husband Kyle. Tasha and Aaron head to Kyle’s vacation home in Venice; Alice and Kyle stay to take care of Tasha and Aaron’s twin girls. Two nights later, Kyle is dead and Alice is in the hospital.

Worth quoting:
N/A

Why I chose it:
I had a credit on Audible and I have enjoyed Douglas’s other books.

Review:
Ah, another good one. Very interesting and, once again, there’s a twist, but perhaps it either isn’t the one the reader is expecting, or it is, but it’s far to early for everything to be resolved.

The book is told primarily from the perspectives of Tasha and her mother Jeanette though Alice and another character Bonnie share their perspectives a few times. We don’t get any chapters from the perspectives of the men in this book, and once again it does seem like the author is more interested in telling the stories of women.

As it is a mystery, I can’t give too much away, but I do appreciate how the author weaves in the roles individuals – especially children – get put into at a young age, and how those roles influence their lives as they age. Some of us with siblings probably can relate at least one characteristic that they’ve been told by their parents that they have, but their sibling doesn’t, or vice versa, and whether that ends up holding true in adulthood, it still influences how they act within their family. The smart one, the fashionable one, the family-oriented one.

I also appreciate that, once again, the author is telling a story about how people may not really know who their family member is and what they are capable of doing. Some people might seem incredibly close, but perhaps there’s a whole side they never share. The author isn’t saying that everyone is keeping secrets and no one can be trusted; it’s more that everyone has a lot going on and they aren’t always forthcoming with what that is, and that can have some serious consequences. And at the same time, family ties are strong, and some folks will do anything for their family.

What’s next for this book:
N/A (audio book)