I’m new to this author–probably because this was her first novel–but it kept popping up in my thriller groups online, so I thought I would give her a shot.
I was disappointed. I like the idea of the book, but I feel like the story took too long to unfold. At first, it isn’t clear why the main character, Maya, thought this guy Frank was killing people…without having any physical contact with them. I mean, she sees a video online where clearly nothing is happening other than some strung-out girl listening to a guy who can’t stop talking. Then she kills over. Maybe he was just boring.
Of course, that’s not all of the story. Maya is a recovering addict who is lying about her condition to the man she loves, Dan. She also has a family history of mental disability on her mother’s side. Her father? Well, he died before her mom knew she was pregnant, only a month after they met, and in a country she soon left. Even though she barely knows them, Maya’s mother, Brenda, tries to keep a relationship between her dead lover’s parents and the granddaughter they never met and didn’t even know was a possibility…because they didn’t know Brenda and their son had been sleeping together.
Anyway, that all works into the story along with the incomplete book Maya’s father wrote. Aside from that, this story is about a recovering addict who tries to catch her ex-boyfriend, Frank, because she thinks he is killing women, her old high school BFF included.
And this whole time, she’s suffering withdrawal. That adds another layer to the cake.
Seem like a lot? It is. Not to mention Frank turns out to have a skill that few possess, a skill he uses to both help people and kill people, apparently. You’ll figure this out about halfway through the book, even though you won’t know the details yet. Want to know what that skill is now? How does Frank do it after all? You’ll just have to read the book to find out!
The Pondering Pot 