There are important themes in this book.
And everyone who recommended it to me focussed on the main message rather than the serial killer aspect of the plot.
Reagan lives offline, even using an old phone with no smart features to avoid having an online presence. In her teen years she had a dangerous stalker, someone who is a cop now, so staying anonymous is mandatory.
One morning she jogs past a dead body who has a striking resemblance to her. Shortly after, she enters a relationship with Bryce who guides her onto social media so potential customers can discover her failing plant store. Her business takes off and soon after, she buys a smartphone. Then more dead bodies are reported on the news, all who also look similar to her.
This sums up the first half of the book.
And this novel is split into two distinct halves, marked Part 1 and Part 2. The second part brings us into a world we weren’t expecting although we fully understood something wasn’t right in Reagan’s romance.
The novel is set in the days Donald Trump became president of the US, which is referenced, because this is a tale about toxic masculinity.
Research has been done by the author to make us aware just how evil certain men are on the dark web. To say any more about this would give away a major spoiler, but in this second half, many elements from Part 1 come together convincingly.
This book is a page turner.
I finished reading it quite quickly and really enjoyed it until the final twist. The last chapters read as if an editor insisted on this particular resolution for commercial reasons, so that what the blurb talks about is resolved.
Yes, the final twist definitely plays into the toxic masculinity factor, but virtually nothing signals it beforehand in a way the reader can have an ‘uh huh, of course, why didn’t I see that’ moment. For me, it played down the importance of the research and alarming message the author had put into the story up to that point.
Of course, I don’t know for sure if this wasn’t the author’s intention.
But as an important issue was explored successfully in this novel, it really felt like the ending was an afterthought after such brilliant research was weaved into this tale.
kevin klehr 