Loved this! I came to this novel not knowing the author at all. It seems to me alot of readers didn't like the story because they don't like the author. I thought it was awesome, a real page-turner, hard to put down. Great character development and I loved how it twisted and turned, making me think this person was the murderer, then, no, it must be that person, then no again. I loved the ending, too. Not every story has to be neatly wrapped up. It's delicious not having a tidy ending. The ending is menacingly perfect. Reminded me of the first Law & Order: SVU episode I ever watched - we didn't find out the verdict. I screamed at my TV. Delicious, agonizing, perfection. What our brains can imagine is sometimes better than someone else telling us what happened. For certain, I'll be thinking about this story for a long time, and watching for another book by this author. ( )

I enjoyed this read and found myself pulled through this book following the two timelines the book was told in. I enjoyed this narrative structure and felt it really worked to bring the True Crime feeling to this book. The authors experience as a podcaster really lent this an original feel and created a wonderful tension to this book because both Krissy and Martin's stories were real and I felt part of this story. There were many twists and turns that kept me guessing and then second guessing and even even triple guessing my pick for who dun it. This was a beautifully written book told with great voice and style. The only drawback for me, and whay ultimately made this a four star book for me was the ending. Although the mystery was wrapped up and there was a conclusion, I wanted more of a wrap up for the characters I had grown to care about. This is a great book club read and will spark some great discussions and debate before The Big Reveal. ( )

Margo moved back to her small Indiana home town to care for her uncle who is suffering from early-onset dementia. Her intention is to work remotely, but she in unable to work and care for her uncle. She becomes immersed in the death of her friend, January Jacobs from 25 years earlier when another girl is taken from a near-by playground. Is January's killer still out there? ( )

Interesting twists and story, but the ending had me wondering if she forgot something! Kind of a nonending. ( )

Although vaguely excited for this book, I found it extremely dissapointing. The entire "mystery" felt like a copy and paste of the JonBenet Ramsey case. Flowers has been accused of plagirism in the past which, to me, made this all the more infuriating, if not surprising. Many of the facts in the book didn't quite sit right (a scene of a character washing out a paint stain with hot water? not cold?) and pieces of the story felt extremely repetitive.
The Queerbaiting
******SPOILER*******
Towards the end of the book a character's relation with a woman comes into the story. This is not the main character, and someone we hear from but not as much. We never hear form the other woman in the story and only have about 1-2 chapters talking about this relationship. It feels thrown in and unfished. Speaking of queerbaiting, Margot is an unmarried woman who has no interest in having a s/o. Is she queer? Gay? Bi? Asexual? I know this wasn't part of the story but she had little to know character dveleopment and *something* would have been appreciated.
The Ending:
*****SPOILER********
The ending was the most dissapointing. I am a fan of the bittersweet ending- or even a dark ending. Everything doesn't have to fall neatly into place necessarily. However, ending with the not knowing what happened after, not knowing if the main character we've been with throughout had been alive, felt very much like a cop-out by the author. Even if we assume that Margot died at the end, at least give us the closure of *knowing*. Give a glimpse of after, even if it's Luke waiting for her to come home, or Jodi looking for her or going to the police. If there was a promise of a sequel or the understanding that Margot's story would be continued, I might understand the author's choice. But as it stands it is simply ending on a deeply unsatisfying cliffhanger. ( )