Alright. This won, like, all the popularity awards for mystery/thriller last year. And that is not a genre I usually read, so I kept scrolling right past it. Until...I finally read the blurb and realized it took place in the Adirondacks. My grandparents lived there for years, and we'd go every summer, and so I have many fond childhood memories of the area. So, I decided, based on that very superficial connection, to give it a try. 

 

Annnnnnnddd, I'm glad I picked this one up! It was not (as I was nervous about) too scary. Which means, to be transparent, that it was not really scary at all. As I am a huge scaredy-cat. Haha. It was much more a mystery-unfolding, kind of like a police procedural situation, but in written form, style. It jumped among characters/perspectives and time periods. The quick switches kept me engaged and on my toes. It was super well paced and, with all the red herrings and false leads sprinkled throughout (which were insinuated so smoothly and subtly that I never felt condescended to or like I was being pushed too obviously in any direction, whether right or wrong). I found myself totally engrossed in trying to tease apart nefarious motives for characters' caginess versus regular (if still fairly ugly) human motives (like ambition, lust, embarrassment, etc). It was hard! And I definitely had some wrong - the red herrings got me! And that's just good writing. I thought it all wrapped up well too, with some expected aspects and some unexpected twists (though potentially a few “loose end” characters). There was a solid mix of comeuppance justice and middle finger choosing-my-own-path (and a camaraderie-style given opportunity to do so), while also leaving some characters in realistic (but still tragic/hopeless/limbo) finales. Speaking of the writing, I was anticipating this being a plot-centric novel. And it was very plot focused, for sure. But I was also really impressed with the scene setting and character development. It had some very real depth and nuance, and a whole ton of family and community drama. 

 

I don't have a lot of experience with mystery-thriller novels, so I cannot speak to how it stands up to others in the genre, but as a general reader, I can say that this novel was objectively high quality writing. And I am super glad I went for it! Oh, and to end where I started, I did recognize a few things from my memories, specifically (and especially) the damn black flies (iykyk) - though I hated the characters throwing said party, I was totally bought into the idea of a Black Fly Goodbye party! 

 

 “These are the times in her life that Louise has felt most acutely the animal nature of her humanity, and therefore they have been the most comforting. To be a human is complex, and often painful; to be an animal is comfortingly simple and good.” 

 

 “Rich people […] generally become most enraged when they sense they’re about to be held accountable for their wrongs.”