Reviewed by Kristin
Jessie Sloane and her mother Eden have only had each
other. While they don’t fit the mold of
a traditional nuclear family, it works for them, and it’s not that unusual for
children to grow up with a single mother these days anyway. When Eden is diagnosed with cancer, Jessie faces
losing her mother when she is barely out of her teens. In her last days, Eden encourages Jessie to
stretch her boundaries, to try new things, and to find herself.
In her mind-numbing grief, Jessie attempts to rebuild her
life alone without her mother. Her
sorrow is compounded by an inability to sleep, and Jessie’s days and nights
blur together as she finds more questions about the mother she thought she knew. When Jessie applies for financial aid to
attend a local college, a discrepancy with her social security number leads to
even more questions about the life she and her mother had together.
Mary Kubica skillfully weaves together Eden’s 20-years-earlier
story of her marriage to Aaron and their desperate attempts to conceive a child
alongside Jessie’s present day quest to uncover her past. Jessie’s insomnia makes her actions appear disjointed
and nonsensical at times as the narrative reveals decisions she makes in an
attempt to move on with her life. As the
story progresses, the tension rises to a fever pitch that had me fearing for
Jessie’s life.
I had never read any of Kubica’s work before, but will
definitely be seeking out her earlier titles:
The Good Girl, Pretty Baby, Don’t You Cry, and Every
Last Lie. She has published a
psychological thriller every year since 2014 and is showing no signs of slowing
down. Kubica definitely kept me guessing
and turning pages late into the night and I look forward to her other novels of
suspense.
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