"For us, there was no such thing as fate. Fate was a word you used when you had not prepared, when you were slack, when you stopped paying attention. Fate was a weak man's crutch."
Sarah and Jennifer created the Never List to protect themselves from any and every accident or mishap, sure that if they adhered to the rules of their list they would be safe. And for years it worked. Until they went away to college. Then one night, coming home from a party, they're taken by a man named Jack Derber, who locks them away in his cellar and holds them captive with two other girls for the next three years. Sarah survives, but she's not the same girl she once was. As for Jennifer? Sarah doesn't know what happened to her.
"We'd been naive. We hadn't believed other minds could be as calculating as ours. We hadn't counted on actual evil as our enemy rather than blind statistical possibility."
Thirteen years later, Jack Derber is up for parole. He's been taunting Sarah from prison with strange letters and clues. And Sarah knows she's going to have to face up to the nightmares of her past so she can finally find out what happened to her friend all those years ago.
I could not put this suspenseful mystery down! I'd tell myself I was only going to read one more chapter, but one chapter would turn into two, then three, then four... Sarah's story is so compelling, and Zan's writing so amazing, I was completely drawn in. Sarah's search for the truth takes her back into the darkness of her past. (And it is a very dark place.) And the other girls who survived seem to have good reasons to hate her. This is an intense thriller, but not an overly graphic or explicit one, for which I was grateful. And that twist at the end! It's a good one. I'd give this book 4/5 stars.
"We'd been naive. We hadn't believed other minds could be as calculating as ours. We hadn't counted on actual evil as our enemy rather than blind statistical possibility."
Thirteen years later, Jack Derber is up for parole. He's been taunting Sarah from prison with strange letters and clues. And Sarah knows she's going to have to face up to the nightmares of her past so she can finally find out what happened to her friend all those years ago.
I could not put this suspenseful mystery down! I'd tell myself I was only going to read one more chapter, but one chapter would turn into two, then three, then four... Sarah's story is so compelling, and Zan's writing so amazing, I was completely drawn in. Sarah's search for the truth takes her back into the darkness of her past. (And it is a very dark place.) And the other girls who survived seem to have good reasons to hate her. This is an intense thriller, but not an overly graphic or explicit one, for which I was grateful. And that twist at the end! It's a good one. I'd give this book 4/5 stars.
Happy Reading!
Lark, thanks for writing about this one. I've had it on my Kindle for a long time - who knows how long? Not sure I ever read another review of it but maybe. Seems like a good one to keep in mind for this fall's reading.
ReplyDeleteI liked this one a lot.
DeleteOK, I think I need to read this one!
ReplyDeleteIt's a really good one...at least in my opinion. :)
DeleteSounds very good. I love when a book keeps you reading no matter how hard you try to put it down.
ReplyDeleteI do, too! :)
DeleteThis sounds intense! I hope Jack Derber got what was coming to him in the end. I will have to look for this one.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is a good one.
DeleteThat cover is so haunting! Sounds like a great and intense read!
ReplyDeleteIt kept me up at night. :)
DeleteOoh I'm glad you liked this one! I bought it a few years ago and it's been sitting on one of my overstuffed bookshelves for ages!I hope to read it in the next few months.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear what you think of it! :)
DeleteThank you for the comment that it's not overly graphic or explicit - I did wonder, because I avoid that when I can. Now I'll put this on my reading list!
ReplyDeleteI don't like a lot of graphic violence, sex or gore in my books either.
DeleteI've read this and enjoyed it, but not her other book, The Follower. Hopefully her next book will be better.
ReplyDeleteI hope so, too.
DeleteWill check this one out Lark, sounds really good! Xxx
ReplyDeleteLainy http://www.alwaysreading.net
Thanks, Lainy! :)
DeleteI'm wondering what Sarah did that made the other surviving girls hate her. Also wondering what happened to her friend. Glad to hear it's not too graphic, because just the thought of being held captive for three years gives me nightmares. I can't stand any graphic details with stories like this, because it haunts me. Still, I'm super curious about this one! Fab review, Lark! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rachel! :)
DeleteI don't know why, but I love books like this. I'm sticking it on my TBR mountain chain. Thanks for the rec, Lark!
ReplyDeleteHope you like it!
DeleteThis sounds compelling but probably too dark for me. Sometimes I wish I could read the darker books; I know there are good books and authors I miss out on because of it.
ReplyDeleteThis one is a little dark. What I appreciated is that it wasn't graphic or detailed in its violence/darkness, if that makes sense. :)
DeleteDidn't this book come out around the time there was a big news story about some young women held captive? I think that might be why I didn't want to pick it up then. All those events were just too fresh on my mind. Great cover and definitely interested in this one!
ReplyDeleteI think it did.
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