A member of my mystery book group, Diana, recommended this book because she said it had such a twisty ending. Absolutely left me astounded and made me want to read it a 2nd time to see if I missed any clues or was misled. Author David Ellis was the youngest judge to be on the Illinois Appellate Court but has nevertheless found the time and imagination to write several crime/thrillers on his own and many more in partnership with James Patterson.
The book introduces "an unlikely ensemble [who] recount... the devious events that led to a grisly Halloween murder" (Kirkus). Beautiful Lauren Betancourt is found hanging from the 2nd floor balustrade of her home in a wealthy Chicago suburb. The book uses a lot of time shifts which are labeled with separate pages saying, for example, "Before Halloween: May 13." Each section then offers background information from several points of view: Simon Dobias, a well-respected law professor currently vying for tenure; his "wife" Vicky Lanier, to whom he has ostensibly been married for almost 10 years, although he is more in love with her than vice versa; Christian Newsome, a con artist who targets unhappily married women with access to a lot of money; and Sargent Jane Burke of the local police department, and the investigator assigned to Lauren's suspicious death. The reader is also privy to a journal, in which David keeps detailed notes of an affair he started with Lauren earlier in the year. Meanwhile, Vicky is planning to leave David after their 10th anniversary on Nov. 3rd, when she will have access to Simon's trust fund containing over $20 million; that's how she comes to meet Christian and begin an affair with him.
Kirkus goes on to say, "But whatever else you think you know in this twisty, intricately plotted story is likely wrong...Murder is far from the only crime committed among this shady lot, though, or even the most recent; the full extent of these devious characters’ various schemes and revenge plots is revealed in carefully scattered clues leading to a shocking, if somewhat improbable, conclusion. Even seasoned mystery readers won’t be able to predict all the knots in Simon and Vicky’s tangled web of deception. A roller-coaster ride full of unexpected twists and turns."
Publishers Weekly describes the seminal event preceding the murder: "Vicky discovers the journal revealing Lauren's pressure on Simon to divorce Vicky before their anniversary, and she encourages Christian to take drastic action. ..the serpentine revelations will surprise even the cleverest mystery readers...[a] complex tale of triple-crossings and devious revenge..."
The New York Times praises, "the fun is figuring out what parts of the story — if any — should be trusted...Though Ellis juggles a great many plot strands, he doesn’t drop them; the result is wildly entertaining...It helps that just about every character in the book is the very definition of unreliable."
No comments:
Post a Comment