Pages: 319
Published: 1st November 2019
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Content warnings: Child death, sexual references
Since Amy’s daughter, Ruby-May, died in a terrible accident, her family have been beset by grief. One year later, the family decide to go on holiday to mend their wounds. An idyllic island in Italy seems the perfect place for them to heal and repair their relationships with one another.
But no sooner have they arrived than they discover nothing on this remote island is quite as it seems. And with the anniversary of the little girl’s death looming, it becomes clear that at least one person in the family is hiding a shocking secret. As things start to go rapidly wrong, Amy begins to question whether everyone will make it home.
On the face of it, this one had several of the components that make a good thriller. Along the way we have an interesting and isolated setting, multiple narratives, characters that you do not know whether to trust, and the occasional unexpected twist. Yet for all of that, when pieced together the end result was fairly underwhelming.
My expectations were high after enjoying Sanjida Kay’s previous thrillers. They were rich in detail and had compelling plots which more often that not led to dramatic revelations, but I just did not feel the same way here. The writing is still very good, but I struggled throughout to connect with the characters, and that in turn made the story less moving.
A year ago, Amy’s young daughter Ruby-May died in a tragic accident, and in her grief she and husband Matt have struggled to move on ever since. She also blames her father for Ruby-May’s death, as he had apparently been told to watch her at the time it happened.
As the first anniversary of the incident approaches, Amy’s younger brother Nick suggests a big family holiday to an island in Tuscany. The entire family flies out, and without telling the others Nick brings their father along, which causes friction. There are constant reminders about what happened when Ruby-May died, and mysterious things begin to happen at the villa where they are staying.
Some of the book is told in the third person, primarily from the perspective of Amy. It is in these chapters where you are able to see the bigger picture and make up your mind about most of the characters. It is also where the impact of Ruby-May’s loss really comes through in the writing, and the damage it has done to the family.
However, two thirds of the story is narrated by Nick in the first person, which seemed a surprising choice at the time and I still feel the same way now. As Ruby-May’s uncle, he played such a central role and it is through him where we get most of the desire for revenge and determination to find out what really happened.
Nick is an interesting character to follow as he uncovers the mystery, but sadly I never really connected with him or found him particularly engaging. He was certainly much different to other narrators I have come across, but the fact that so much of the book was told from his viewpoint did not always compel me to read on.
Indeed, the book’s biggest weakness is that none of the characters are massively likeable or even interesting. Bethany was the most multi-layered, but ultimately she was just as grating as many of the rest. Some of the themes were explored well and in detail, though for a story that should conjure emotion I sadly just did not feel it.
The Italian setting was very well realised, with vivid descriptions and a suitable atmosphere that made it feel picturesque, yet also quite isolated. Such was the structure of the book, it alternated frequently between the present events in Italy and what had previously taken place in the South West of England where the family live.
In Sanjida Kay’s previous books I have been used to her writing with broad brush strokes, so to speak. That level of depth just was not there on this occasion, and without it this one felt like just another average thriller by comparison. The twist at the end came as a slight surprise, but it did not seriously enhance my feelings towards the book.
Overall, this one did not live up to my expectations. There were definitely some highlights, such as the setting and the quality of the writing, but the characters and my inability to connect with them was something of a letdown for me. Unlike Sanjida Kay’s other thrillers, it fails to stand out.
This book had its good points, but ultimately it left me feeling underwhelmed. A shame, considering it came from an author whose previous work I have really enjoyed.
My rating: ⭐⭐.5
Stephen Reads Books 