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A review by jacki_f
If You Were Here by Alafair Burke
3.0
Journalist McKenna Jordan is investigating the recent rescue of a teenage boy on the New York subway. When he fell onto the tracks, a woman jumped down and pulled him to safety in the nick of time. She then turned and disappeared. McKenna obtains some shaky cellphone footage from a witness, but is stunned when she thinks she recognises the woman as her friend Susan Hauptmann, who disappeared without trace 10 years previously. Her husband Patrick, who also knew Susan, is not convinced, but McKenna starts to investigate. However almost immediately it becomes evident that someone wants to stop her from finding out what's going on. First the cellphone footage mysteriously disappears from her computer, then she is fired as the victim of a set up at work. Her husband also starts behaving oddly and suddenly McKenna is not sure who she can trust.
I really liked the first half of this book. It grabs your attention early and the mystery is genuinely intriguing. The writing is similar in style to Linwood Barclay and Harlan Coben. However somewhere along the way, it starts to lose momentum. The author throws in too many improbable twists and unlikely coincidences. Characters behave in ways that service the plot rather than making any sense in their own right. Too many plot elements need to be lengthily explained. And the ending drags on for too long.
I'd rate the first half of this book four stars, but the second half two stars, so I've averaged out at three. It's an okay thriller but it's a shame that it doesn't deliver on its early promise.
I received a digital copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked the first half of this book. It grabs your attention early and the mystery is genuinely intriguing. The writing is similar in style to Linwood Barclay and Harlan Coben. However somewhere along the way, it starts to lose momentum. The author throws in too many improbable twists and unlikely coincidences. Characters behave in ways that service the plot rather than making any sense in their own right. Too many plot elements need to be lengthily explained. And the ending drags on for too long.
I'd rate the first half of this book four stars, but the second half two stars, so I've averaged out at three. It's an okay thriller but it's a shame that it doesn't deliver on its early promise.
I received a digital copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.