Carmen Cobbett

Not Ruth Ware’s best. Her main character is the unreliable narrator trope, but the flaws of the character doesn’t move the plot forward but only incites irritation. The character’s substance abuse and personal history aren’t well-developed enough to make her three-dimensional, and halfway through the book, it has become clear to me that those qualities are only used as red herrings. As the story drew to a close, the main character’s personal issues of anxiety and substance use are never discussed or integrated into the tale. There are also a number of unanswered questions of details she put in that becomes apparent Ward is only using those details as diversions. The plot itself is ok and there are a few twists, but the characters in the book are all quite under developed and not substantial enough to fill the bones of the plot to make it a fully fleshed, believable tale.