I feel like this book focused on the weaker elements. The mystery was so nothing and bland. I didn't really care about the answer to what happened in the past.

For the first half of the book, the characters were so freaked out about getting caught for something that seemed so underwhelming. Like there would have been a little pushback if Isa had come clean to the cops on page one, but honestly, they were stupid kids who made a stupid mistake almost twenty years ago. It was genuinely not a big deal and not enough to drive the book. And then when something more serious does happen, the characters immediately acknowledge that the initial problem was not very major. Literally half the book.

The climax was dramatic and more interesting, but honestly by that point I just didn't care what happened to these people. This book was dragging on and I was so disinterested in everything.

The more interesting parts of the story were the characters and their growth. If this book had spent less time being a twisty mystery and more time dealing with the grief and trauma of these people who were deeply affected at a formative time in their lives, I would have care a whole lot more. There was so much unanswered about their lives. We never got to see how Isa or the others coped in the direct aftermath, or how they put the pieces of their lives back together. If I was enjoying the mystery element, I wouldn't have cared about this, but the mystery felt so bland to me.

I did really enjoy Ruth Ware's writing style. It was easily engrossing and such a quick read. I'd be down to try more from her, but this is already my second of her books that's gotten lukewarm three stars, so perhaps she's just not the author for me.

If you're looking for something exciting, this book isn't it. It doesn't do much in the first half. The second half was better, but not enough to salvage this book for me. Not awful, but also not one I'd go out of my way to recommend.