I thought I was diving into a quick, page-turning thriller, but instead I was immersed into a deep and intense character study of three very different people who are all battling their own personal obsessions. Russ is a cop who is is obsessed with his former love (also in charge of investigating the murder of Lucinda), Jade is a girl obsessed with her ex-best friend (Lucinda), and Cameron is a boy obsessed with a girl he can’t have (Lucinda). As the book progresses the reader sees each of these people come to terms with their obsession. And while solving the murder is the whole point of the book, it somehow becomes secondary to the evolution of the characters. By the time I found out who the murderer was, I almost didn’t care. (That’s not to say that I didn’t care about the book – I was just so involved in the characters that that just became a subplot.)
I loved Kukafka’s prose. She writes so lyrically that I found myself trying to soak up every paragraph. This is her debut novel (at just twenty-four years old!) and I am blown away with her talent. I look forward to her future writings.
There were a few things that left me frustrated throughout the book. We never really find out what happens to Cameron’s dad – where did he end up? why did he feel he needed to flee forever? didn’t he ever come back to check in on his son? – and that left me feeling like it was a loose end that I would have preferred been tied up. Also, the murder is the central story, but as mentioned above, that storyline kind of gets lost. Not a deal breaker, in my opinion, but maybe the book could have been marketed differently. I think it could really throw off some people who go into the book thinking they’re starting a page-turning thriller.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one! Have you read it yet? What were your thoughts? What worked for you and what didn’t?
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