This was my first Alessandra Torre novel and it wasn't really what I expected going into it. I had a love/hate relationship with the main character Helena Ross. She was harsh, narcissistic and cruel. Her inner thoughts made me cringe often. Yet, I also felt for what she went through at the end when all was revealed. As a mom, I can not imagine having to live with what happened to her. It just wasn't enough to really make me like her. As she made changes for the better towards those around her - it was minimal and just left me wondering why they put up with her. I think the fact that I didn't care for Helena really affected my overall enjoyment of the book. When you aren't invested in the characters - the feelings just aren't there. I read some reviews where readers mentioned crying at the big reveal. I just didn't have any emotion that came close to that. Yes, it was sad and I felt bad but honestly it didn't bring me close to shedding a tear.

The second issue I had was that the book (especially the middle) really dragged for me. For a book that's billed as suspense I simply didn't find it very suspenseful. Maybe my expectations were too high? It lacked any real intensity for me. I feel like there was very little plot. 3/4 of the book was told in bits and pieces of shared memories told through Helena writing with her ghost writer. Even when she tried to paint a picture of their initial happiness and love it was hard for me to believe because her inner dialogue was always so negative and superior.

I feel like more time should have been spent on the big reveal and Helena's husband's secret. Honestly, that was the most interesting part of the book and it was over before it was really explored.

What made me rate the book 3 stars (& not lower which I thought about) was 2 fold. I ultimately did enjoy Mark, the ghost writer. He was a very likable character and kept me reading. He balanced out some of my irritation with Helena while reading, thankfully. Secondly, I honestly did think the overall idea of the book was interesting. I think it had promise. I just would have liked to see it executed differently. Maybe it has to do with the fact that this was Torre's first foray into suspense and a break away from her usual genre but I wasn't left very impressed with this one.