By Larissa Page
It’s been ten months since Charlotte fled her small town of River John, Nova Scotia without telling anyone where she was going, including her best friend Sophie, who has just been in a brutal and debilitating car accident. Upon her return, she discovers Sophie and her other peers have been struggling in her absence and are not pleased to see her back—as she expected—except for Sophie’s ex-boyfriend Max. As Charlotte and Max reconnect, they discover a lot more has been going on in River John, including on that night a year ago that led to the car accident.
This young adult novel was a great small town thriller. In a town where everyone knows everyone and rumours are endless, it’s hard to believe there are nefarious forces at play—maybe it’s easier to believe when the clues don’t line up. I found the plot relatively believable, which I love in a thriller. While this thriller wasn’t flashy or exciting, I was still hooked and sped through once I got to about the halfway mark.
I really enjoyed the development of the relationships within this novel between Charlotte and Max, Sean, and Sophie. I think the author timed the developments well, just as she timed the small plot twists well. The different clues or surprises that built up the mystery part of the thriller were evenly spaced enough to keep me reading.
I do wish this novel had had just that little bit more, that perhaps it was a little bit deeper, but I find I feel this way about many young adult novels so I feel this may be more a reflection of my feelings on the genre versus this particular novel.
I am from Nova Scotia and therefore always love a locally set story. I felt like this one gave that to me. It was a well-described Nova Scotian small town and that gave me a thrill. The local story, believable plot, relationships I wanted to cheer for, and the well-timed hooks made this a perfect light read for leading into my summer reading time.
Thank you to Nimbus Publishing for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.