Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was not exactly what I expected from this book. I did still enjoy it however. A lot of emotion involved.

I loved this book! I was expecting something completely different but I love what I got instead. I enjoyed the details and descriptions of life on Vancouver Island. This book was completely unique and did an excellent job portraying how lives are affected with the brutal and unexpected loss of a loved one.

The book opens with details of how Laura, an 18 year old girl from a good family and promising future ahead of her doesn’t come home after going for a run, details of the search and the heartbreak of finding her murdered body.

Twenty years later, her younger brother, David, is the last living member of the family. As he processes the recent death of his mother, he learns she had promised an interview to a journalist hoping to put some new attention on this cold case. As David works through deciding whether or not to grant the interview on behalf of his mom, we see the heartbreaking scar his sister’s death left upon him and his parents. I feel like this book is an excellent representation of what it must be like for parents, siblings and the family as a unit as they try to come to terms with such an unimaginable loss. The ending was not what I was expecting either, but again is a great representation of the reality families face when dealing with the unsolved murder of a loved one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

This book starts off with a bang and then...drops off. While not a typical mystery, this story was hard for me to engage with fully and I found it to be lacking the energy I crave in a mystery. Just wasn't the one for me.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Melgaard's novel was an enjoyable read, but not quite what I was expecting. Reviewer comparisons to Twin Peaks had me hooked, but the text lacked the quirky, slightly supernatural bent of Lynch's work. The commentary on society's fixation with true crime is apt, but I felt like the criticism has been levelled effectively, and frequently, elsewhere.

I enjoyed this book but it wasn't what I was expecting, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Without giving too much away, this is not a typical mystery of who did it. I enjoyed how unique this book was and would definitely be interested in a sequel if one was made. Overall, I enjoyed this for what it was. Special Thank You to Michael Melgaard, House of Anansi Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy prior to publication.

Thank you @netgalley and @houseofanansi for this eARC.

This book has a lot to unpack. But I like the fact that I’m still thinking about it.

In a small town one hour north of Victoria, an 18-year-old girl (Laura) goes missing, one night, and is found dead. Her brother, David, and parents are caught in the aftermath. The story revolves around a reporter who tries to get in touch with the family, 20 years later, to write about the unsolved case.

So, first things first, this is not a regular mystery with a whodunnit approach. I mean, it does have some bits of it. But that’s not really what this book is about. It’s about what happens after a horrible tragedy like this hits a small town. The trauma that the family members go through (20 years later, David still has so much left to process), the voyeuristic trend of covering it in true crime shows/documentaries/podcasts, the chain of events it sets in motion, the scars it leaves on people close to the victim or others in the town.

There’s a lot of description about the place, its surroundings, roads, neighbourhoods. I wondered why. Eventually, it hit me. Because this book isn’t just about Laura or David. It’s about the town they live in, Griffiths.

It’s the kind of town you pass through while commuting to another city. The kind of place where you don’t expect anything to happen, let alone something terrible. Because it’s just “not that kind of a place.” But the book makes you see how even small towns have crime, violence and inherently misplaced ideas that can lead to something scary.

While it sounds like a mystery novel, it’s more a blend of literary fiction and mystery. I found the pacing a bit erratic, alternating between fast and slow. There are some parts that are dialogue-heavy. The pace picked up again towards the end. The last couple of pages left me disturbed, reeling with questions.

I was initially planning to give it 3.5 because it wasn’t the mystery I expected it to be. But, this book’s still on my mind, I’m still wondering about David…and that end… So, I think it deserves a bit more.

3.75/5

As the 20th anniversary of his sister's murder approaches, David must come to terms that not everything in their small Canadian town was as ideal as it seemed.

Laura disappeared one night while on a run. Three days later, her discman was found, and later, her body was pulled off of the mountain. A neighbor was the key suspect in her murder. For years, David has lived in the shadows of this death. Moving into the basement, working a go-nowhere job, and just generally avoiding the truth. Now, after her mother's death, David is being confronted by the murder and a journalist who seeks the truth.
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This could have been great. But instead read very dry and had large sections about the history of the small town and the politics behind it all. There was mention of missing indigenous women, but beyond that, nothing.

David, as the main character, was boring and lazy. He was too blind to see the truth about the town and the bad parts. The drugs, the sex work, the politics behind it all.

There was a good section, towards the last 1/4 that started to pick up and bring some sort of resolution, but then died flat and with no resolve. I was really disappointed that storyline with Stacy didn't go further.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I don’t know what I was expecting with this book, but it didn’t fulfill my expectations. I found the book to be quite slow and dry. It had more “history” on the town than I would’ve liked to read and there was no thrill factor to it. It borders on mystery, but still not anything I’m used to reading.

It started with a good thrill that I was hoping would get more intense as the book went on, but really nothing until the absolute end. It’s a book that I wouldn’t read again.

I was gifted this ARC in return for an honest review.