Publish Date: February 4, 2020
“A memory is no more reliable than the weather, broken, warped by the teller’s view.” – Behind Every Lie
Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened but the police are highly suspicious of her.
Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London—Kat’s former home—for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.
I’ve heard so much buzz about Christina McDonald‘s first book, The Night Olivia Fell, that I couldn’t resist reading this author’s new book. Thank you Gallery Books for the opportunity!
Eva Hansen brings new meaning to the term Unreliable Narrator. The book opens up with Eva waking up in the hospital after being been struck by lightening and discovering that her mom has been murdered. She can’t remember anything. Her quest to find out the truth definitely put me on a wild ride because this book twists and turns faster than a tornado in Kansas.
The book explores a very complicated mother-daughter relationship. If you think that your relationship with your mom is complex, just wait until you read about Eva and her mom Kat. They are definitely dysfunctional.
This novel is told from alternating POVs: Eva’s and Kat’s, in the past from Kat’s view, and the present in Eva’s view. It switches around often so I had to pay close attention at the chapter headings. None of the characters are particularly likeable for me, and all are unreliable, so I didn’t know who was really credible or what to believe. Male characters in the book were portrayed in a negative light – abusive, clingy, unintelligent, sappy, angry or just plain crazy.
My favorite quotes:
“I couldn’t trust anything. Not what I remembered, not what I thought I saw, not myself.“
“Brains are strange and capricious things, and we humans are deluded to purport to be in control of them. A memory is no more reliable than the weather, broken, warped by the teller’s view.”
“We can be strong and brave and broken and whole all at the same time.”
This book is about memories, trauma, motherhood, love, abuse, murder, manipulation, and stalking. It does have some trigger themes but nothing particularly graphic. This domestic thriller kept me up late at night reading because it’s full of suspense, shocking surprises, and kept me guessing until the very end.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 
Note: I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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