For June, my distance book club decided to read a book about/themed around social media. There were some really interesting choices. And such variety! I can’t believe how long social media has been around! I remember when Myspace first started and now I’m feeling crazy old. Anyways, this one stuck out to me because I haven’t read a thriller in so long, at least a year. It’s mostly because it’s not my favorite genre, but I was feeling one, so I was excited when this book won the vote.

Louise Williams is just working on getting through life as a self-employed divorced mother when she receives a Facebook friend request out of the blue from an old high school friend, Maria Weston. The only problem is, Maria died when they were still in school. Or at least Louise thought she had. And she’s spent the years since then struggling to overcome the memories and guilt about the role she played in the tragic events. And now she’s afraid all those cruel high school decisions are about to come out into the light for everyone to see…because someone seems to know her secret(s).

I was a little worried going into this one after seeing that neither of my libraries had it in any form, not physical book, ebook or audiobook. Now, I know that’s not a reason to judge a book. I mean, objectively I know that obscurity does not equal lack of quality. But I’ve never had a problem finding a book, in some from, at my libraries before. So I can’t lie, I went into this book with low expectations. With that in mind, my expectations were definitely exceeded. This was a fairly absorbing thriller. I enjoyed the way it was told, in alternating time periods, but all from Louise’s point of view. With the exception of a few italicized sections, also written in first person, whose narrator was not identified (and you don’t find out who it is until the end). And I liked the misdirection that those short sections added – my suspicions about the voice for those changed a couple times, so I count that well done. Anyways, the pacing was pretty solid, plot-wise. I do think there was just a bit too much repetition of Louise’s inner thoughts/questions. I mean, I understand she was trying to work through things, but it dragged just a little at times and I found myself skimming. (Also, can I just take this moment to talk about how frustrating Louise’s character is? I was never that popular in high school either, but like, she made so many bad decisions and then continues to make them as an adult, but based on her insecurities left over from/about high school. It’s super sad, but also annoying. I mention this only in relation to her issues with trying to be popular, not anything else. And, though I realize those insecurities play a great role in other decisions/situations as well, please don’t read this as victim shaming in any way – for the moments related to when she truly in a victim – that’s different.) But I felt like clues/revelations were dropped at reasonable intervals and while I was always ready for the next one, I was never overly exasperated by the wait between them. As with all thrillers, I found myself speeding through, probably missing some details or writing style, to get to the next big thing, but, again, that’s just how thrillers read. Basically, the writing was just fine for the type of novel this was.

As to the plot itself. I did really like how it unfolded in a general sense. I enjoyed the way social media was used a lot. It was creepy and really (as it probably should) makes you take a second to think about how much of yourself you share online. Now, the “moral” related to that was perhaps slightly too explicitly stated at the end, during the first of the two big reveals…but still a good message. I also liked that first of the two reveals a lot. I can’t say that I totally didn’t see it coming, but, still, it fit into the story really well. And I liked the way that the “revenge” situation was carried out well within the means of the person behind it – even if it wasn’t the most dramatic unveiling ever, I really appreciated the reality. And the feels were all strong, in relation to the goals/endgame of the perpetrator. I also liked quite a bit about the second reveal. It definitely caught me way more off guard, but that makes sense, in the end, considering the POV that is telling this story. And I liked the explanations and the why and all that. It was horrible and disgusting and made a lot of pieces fall together in the right way. Very solid. However, post the final “villain speech,” if you will, I was less than pleased with the final denouement. I mean…how likely/realistic is what happened, because on that perpetrator’s personality? Not likely, at lease IMO. Ah well. Last, and randomly, I want to note that I really like how this story is written from the POV of a high school “mean girl,” if you will. Although perhaps she didn’t feel like it at the time, that’s definitely what it was. And it’s a perspective I have need seen written from, but I appreciated it. For all the bullied POVs we get, there are absolutely not enough opposing insights into those who do the bullying, and why, and how that affects them later. So props to the author for that.

The last thing that I really want to mention, and this is more of a general commentary on the genre and not of this book alone, but why oh why do thrillers need to have so much violence against women in them?! Like, is there not a single other way to create suspense and tension and fear than to use physical/sexual assault? And I know that’s a huge fear factor for women, but like, it’s so explicitly spelled out and used in so many of these types of books and it seems like it borders on the voyeuristic. Am I overreacting? I mean, I get that you can’t create a thriller without the “thrill” of something. But between that and the mental/emotional assault about how “but you liked it” or “it wasn’t like that” or “she’s lying” or whatever – I mean women don’t get believed as it is, without multiple books reinforcing that stereotype.

Regardless, if you made it through my soapbox rant, haha, I have to say that this was a solid page-turning situation. Nothing spectacular, but definitely entertaining and well executed. If you’re looking for “light” (read: quick to read and not so scary that you can’t sleep at night) thriller with a modern media twist, it fits the bill.