Wow! What an amazing debut thriller from the talented Vanessa Lillie!
I was drawn in from the moment I read the first the chapter. Devony Burges, who goes by devon, is 28 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Shes being rushed to the hospital, as she has started having contractions and bleeding. You can feel the terror and the emotions as the story is told. You can also gather that she is an organized perfectionists who has a thing for charts and lists. The chapter ends with Devony being put under anesthesia. As shes being put under, she hears on the radio that her friend has been found dead.
As the story continues, Devon is struggling as a new mother. Her baby is crying all the time and she has a voice in her head that is negative and demeaning. She allures to the fact that she went through a trauma as a child and this voice a nagging bully who seems determined to remind her of her past and what a horrible mother she thinks she is.
Devon then remembers that she has her murdered friend, Belinas, day planner. Devon is determined to get back to some sort of normal, to save her sanity and her marriage. She is determined to prove that the man accused is not the real killer, and to finding the person truly responsible. She goes into things with a biased, as the man accused is her longtime college friend who she cares deeply about. He also is the murdered women’s employer and possible lover.
Devon has a law degree and history working in DC investigating fraud cases. She is very analytical and organized. She is also known to get information by bending the rules, breaking the law, and obsessing over her cases. She makes some questionable moves in order to gain information. Her husband becomes increasingly worried about her health and safety as she digs deeper into the case and the dangerous people involved. He is wary about her getting to involved in the case and with his Uncle, who seems to be at the center of all she does.
She has a lot of anxiety in the beginning about her child, as any mother who almost lost their child would. She doesn’t let anyone hold, or even see, her child and keeps her in a wrap on her body at all times when shes out and about. As the plot thickens and becomes more intesnse, she seems to distance herself more and more. The voice continues to berate and belittle her and towards the end, she starts letting the voice get to her more and more.
I wont get into the ending to much, because WOW what a twist! I do not want to give anything away. I will say that I couldn’t put it down and I was completely shocked, which is a great feat, as that rarely happens for me. I give this book 5 stars for sure!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author Vanessa Lillie, the publisher Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
Kommentare