Who was Veronica Hawkins? This fun psychological thriller keeps you guessing, intriguingly playing on toxic female friendships, leaving you unsure of who to trust…if anyone.

This story kept me on my toes. The changing perspectives, mixed media and unreliable narrator created a delicious sense of unease. I found the Hong Kong setting and social commentary interesting and immersive. Whilst I occasionally found myself feeling a bit distracted by the level of detail, overall the story was well paced. The second half of the book was my favourite, and a loved some of the twists (both expected and unexpected).

I don’t think I could call any of characters likeable, but they were really intriguing, the perfect cast for a psychological thriller. With similar themes to Big Little Lies and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for a good escapist read.

Thank you Hachette and NetGalley for a copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

Okay this was a fun read! Gone Girl meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in this part memoir style thriller set within the backdrop of Hong Kong's rich and elite.

Part 1 of the book is essentially the memoir of Martina Torres, who befriends the rich and influential Veronica Hawkins after moving to Hong Kong to support her husband. We know from the start that Veronica eventually dies, and the memoir explores Martina's life as an outsider in Hong Kong's elite circles, her complicated friendships and relationships, and then her perspective from the night Veronica dies and who she suspects could be involved. We're then pulled from this memoir for part 2, and watch Martina navigating her life and relationships after her memoir about Veronica's death is published and she continues to try to piece together what happened to her friend.

The setting made this book stand out to me - the descriptions of Hong Kong were fascinating, and I felt really immersed in this world. This book explores themes of identity, culture, power, and truth, and the reader's trust in the narrator is really questioned at times (I love an unreliable narrator in a thriller like this!). There were a few slow points, and because I didn't realise the first part was a memoir I was a little bit confused when the writing and perspective changed partway through. Some of the characters are quite stereotypical but I think that lends itself to the thriller genre, and you do question your impressions of some of these characters later which I enjoyed.

Overall a really entertaining read that does make you think and question everything, which I love from a psychological thriller! Thank you to Kristina Perez, Hatchette, and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cursed woman, Beautiful socialite, Tragic heiress. Just who was Veronica Hawkins?

Kristina Perez has presented us with a great story, you know those books where you are hoping for the resolution you have in your mind but will you get the answers and the ending you want, for me this was one of them.

It did begin a little slowly and there are quite a few characters to get to know, I felt the author did a great job of connecting us with them even though many of them are extremely shallow and narcissistic, they were conveyed in a way that set the plot and scene. This does not mean you will like them and I am sure many of them were not meant to be liked, but they provided the reader with what the world in which Veronica Hawkins lived her life was like. Some friendships can be toxic, relationships fraught with lies and secrets and can you really ever trust anyone, this is the strong theme in the book.

There are a lot of descriptions of what life in Hong Kong is like and meanings regarding its many traditions, this was an interesting aspect to the book but I have to admit I did skim some of this. the story itself I thoroughly enjoyed, there was a major twist and I have to say I did not see it coming. I am not going to say anymore as I do not want to give too much away, I suggest you read the book and come to your own conclusions.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions expressed are my own.