I read this book a couple of weeks ago and finally have enough free time to catch up on my reviews (yes, I'm still working my 9-5 in quarantine, but it's a job managing a TV newsroom so it's not really a 9-5 and my brain is consistently sucked dry.) Anyway, I am going back to finish some reviews and when I opened up this draft, I had a hard time even remembering that I read this.
That should tell you something.
I will say that I did enjoy this book when I was reading it, but it was a little like a McDonalds cheeseburger; perfectly satisfying in the moment, not much to write home about afterwards.
I'd have to look to see when this was written, but it definitely came after Gone Girl in a time where, I swear, 80 percent of books on the market had the word "girl" in the title. It was a whole genre. Girl on the Train, Girl in the Dark, etc. (Note: I was Googling some of the titles just now and saw a bunch of articles about this phenomenon. Here's one from NPR.)
It's more than just a trick to get you to buy the book, it's also a formula. Dark, haunting stories with complicated women at the center and a big old twist at the end. That was this book.
In the book, a young woman (I mean, I guess she's a girl, according to book editors), joins an academic research project where she answers personal questions. What starts off as a quick way to make a buck eventually gets her tangled in the love life of the researcher, who we learn pretty quickly is using her research subjects to determine the science behind her husband's infidelity. Chaos ensues.
I'm oversimplifying here, but that's the gist and I don't want to give away too much. Let's just say that, true to formula, everyone has their own agenda and something to hide.
Will it keep your interest? Yes. But, like that McDonald's burger, you'll find yourself reaching for something a little heartier next time.
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