With the release of The Reappearance of Rachel Price this year, I thought it only right that I should post about the last Holly Jackson book I read, because holy cannoli with a side of pepperoni – what a thrilling, suspenseful and amazing novel it was!
I absolutely loved the first book in A Good Girls Guide to Murder and though I haven’t read the sequels (yet), I knew from the moment this book was announced that I most definitely had to read it! Thus, imagine my excitement and glee when I found an early proof copy on the free bookshelves at work, and got to devour this before it’s official publication!
Boy, oh boy, Holly Jackson has done it again. I can’t even begin to explain how good this book was. From the very start to the very end, I was on the edge of my seat – heart pounding, and palms sweating! Holly Jackson knows how to write thrillers, and I think this is one of the best I’ve ever read.
I’ll admit that it is a little slow to begin with as it’s mostly setting the scene for the rest of the story… but once it picked up the pace it sucked me in like a black hole, and I even stayed up reading until 3am because I couldn’t put it down! For me, the best kind of thrillers are the ones where the narrator is always unreliable, or you consistently question the validity of each and every thing that a character says or does, and I think that is why this thriller works particularly well and is so addictive. There wasn’t a single moment where I was able to predict what was going to happen throughout this novel, and I gasped in shock many, many times.
This novel sees an ensemble of six teenagers on their way to spring break, confined in an RV, and before they know it they’ve broken down in the middle of nowhere with bullets flying at them left right and centre. Why? That’s up to the six of them to figure out… but the only thing that’s for certain: one of them knows. But, which one?
Holly’s writing is the perfect example of giving the audience just enough to keep them engaged with the story, but not giving away too much that it spoils everything. Though written in the third person, she writes such unreliable narratives for each of the six characters, and you as a reader are constantly questioning their motives and dialogue… and perhaps that is where the brilliance of this book lies.
If you’re a fan of twisty thrillers that will have you neglecting food, sleep, and every other daily task so you can finish reading, then this will be one for you!
Favourite Quotes:
✨ ‘One sniper. One gun. One red dot. And one liar.’
✨ ‘This was the absolute worst way to die. Mid-squat-pissing behind a tree while Maddy’s axe-murderer charged at her from the front.’
✨ ‘What are you, the tequila guardian?’ He pointed at her. ‘Right, because I’m Mexican?’
✨ ‘Simon scoffed. ‘Sure, just a misunderstanding. There’s a sniper out there with a high-powered rifle and a laser sight who’s decided to use us as target practice. But yeah, just a misunderstanding.’
✨ ‘Oh, come on,’ Simon interjected. ‘This is turning into Lord of the Fucking Flies. We’re going to end up killing each other, forget about the sniper.’
✨ ‘For god’s sake, Simon, enough with The Office references.’
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