3.5 for this thriller. The novel revolves around 2 besties, Emily and Kristin who satiate their wanderlust through yearly bestie trips together. When a trip to Cambodia turns deadly, these friends have to stick together (RIDE OR DIE YANNO?) to ~do what they need to do~ to maintain their freedom. When an almost identical situation happens in Chile, the girls yet again stick together and take care of business. As the book progresses, one of the friends begins to act oddly: possessive, secretive, threatening? Will Emily and Kristin's friendship prevail and their secrets be kept locked away? Or will distrust create a wedge between them that will change everything, forever?

The beginning of this book was fast-paced and strong. I was hooked due to the initial situations that took place outside of the country, and I was prepared for this book to revolve around jet-setting murderers who creeped through foreign countries without suspicion due to the fact that they're young well to-do white women. I was completely wrong, as this book took a different approach, which I feel slowed down the plot substantially. After Kristin moved back to the states, the majority of the novel was just picking apart Emily's thoughts and suspicions about those around her. The constant back-and-forth she had with herself about her friend was understandable but, the book would have been far more interesting if more was actually HAPPENING. By about 70% through, I was becoming bored with the story and wishing for the events that took place to be more jolting/shocking instead of so subtle. The build-up also would have been more worth it if the climax was more interesting. Finally, the end of the novel felt extremely out of place and contradictory of the conclusion Bartz painted for this story...I love a good twist but only if it makes sense. Overall, I loved the premise of the book but, it was a tad too slow for my taste. The pace took most of the thrill out of this thriller.