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| Review by Coll 3 Stars |
I was really excited to read this book, knowing what I did from the description. Cady had half of herself ripped away when she was a teenager, when her twin sister, Savannah, was murdered. With the killer never being caught, the only way Cady could cope with the loss was to write suspense novels about murders. However, she could not escape her sister coming to visit her in her dreams, leaving her to wake with clues about the murder. Now Cady has an opportunity to put the pieces together and she tries to solve the murder once and for all, using her dreams of Savannah and first-hand accounts from a serial murderer that she is interviewing for her next book.
I will be honest, I was a little let down by this book. I was expecting an intense and emotional crime thriller and what I got was a combination of romance, relationship and personal drama, with a side of mystery and detective work. For the majority of the book I felt that Savannah’s murder took a backseat to everything else in Cady’s personal life, and the book ended up being more of a mystery and a self-discovery journey. This is not necessarily a bad thing and I am sure others would like this story structure, but it was not what I was expecting when I began reading the book.
One thing I did love about this book is the bond that is shown between twins, even when one is no longer around. The idea of having such a deep connection with another human being, where you can hear their thoughts and feel their emotions, it was just a beautiful phenomenon. In Nowhere Girl this was portrayed very well and it brought the idea of losing a family member to another level, because it is not just a relative but a part you. The author did a great job or writing this component of the story and it added an extra dose of emotion to everything. Knowing this powerful bond existed between two sisters made the loss of Savannah even more heartbreaking.
Okay, so for a while I felt like a jerk while reading Nowhere Girl because I felt like Cady was being overemotional and exceedingly self-deprecating, and I really did not feel much sympathy for her. Sure I felt awful that she lost her twin sister, but I just could not figure out why I was not feeling as much for her as I should. Then halfway through the book it clicked for me; it was lack of character development. Cady’s was not fully developed into a person I felt I knew. I like when I read something and have a connection with the character, and I feel their pain and joy. Unfortunately I did not get that with this book. While I knew a few things about Cady I did not know enough to build an emotional bond, so it was difficult for me to feel much compassion towards her. It is a shame too because she went through so much and had so many scars, but without a connection it was hard for me to be invested in her life.
I also felt like the main character flip-flopped a little with her emotions. Like something that would make her irate when one person said it, she would then completely accept from someone else. This inconsistency made the story a little unrealistic at times. It also seemed a little predictable. I was able to figure out several things, like who was the culprit for example, very early on. Also certain incidents in the book were red flags for me immediately, while the characters seemed oblivious to them for a long time. That level of predictability took a lot out of the book for me.
Overall, this was not a bad book and it did hold my interest enough where I wanted to keep reading it. Unfortunately it was not what I was expecting and many parts, including the ending, fell flat to me, which is why I ended up going with three stars. If you are looking for a mystery that explores family, relationships, and secrets you might enjoy this. Just do not go into it like I did, expecting an unpredictable and fast-paced crime novel.
“Trauma climbed along the corridors of my mind and wrapped itself around the present so I couldn’t really tell the two apart.”
Interested in Nowhere Girl? Check it out on Goodreads
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