My thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Samantha Hayes for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

This was the worst. I haven’t read a bad book in a while, but this was a snoozer. The conflict happens right at the beginning and then you are left with 300 pages of boring, boring, boring, until the big reveal at the end. I didn’t like any of the characters, I had no sympathy for Ella being abused, honestly, I felt like I was getting a blow in the head each chapter I kept reading. If not for receiving this book from NetGalley, I would not have finished it. But, I felt an obligation and was hoping that it would improve as I went along. Clearly, not everyone, I mean mostly everyone, doesn’t agree with me because it has a 4 star rating on Goodreads. I would interrupt this to mean that it was above average.

So meet Ella. She is a boring non-nondescript person who doesn’t socialize with anyone at her place of work. Riding her bike home, she is in a terrible accident that lands her in the hospital. When she wakes from her coma, her loving husband is there, holding her hand, doting on her. Everyone tells her how lucky she is. Except that she is not married and is clearly afraid of the man who is standing before her. She thought he was long dead. There is history there and he is blackmailing her into going along with his little ruse. We don’t know what Jacob’s name really is and as she recollects the past, we are to figure out who he is. Jacob empties her apartment and moves her into a big new beautiful house. She is kept prisoner there, getting hit for the smallest of infractions. He forces her to quit her job, but WAIT. There is a guy that she has never spoken to, never gone out with, even in a group in a casual setting, won’t even accept a ride home from him, that she smiled at once after years of working there who is suspicious of what is happening. Can he save her? Who is Jacob? Why are her neighbours so nosy? What will happen to Ella??

Geez, sorry, I can’t. It was all too ridiculous. Even if all that worked, the baby thing just put it over the top. I don’t want to go into too much detail, because I don’t want to reveal spoilers for those readers who want to read it. For me, more depth and fully drawn out characters was needed. Spending more time developing them would have allowed the audience to be invested and care about what was happening to them. Too many archetypes were being thrown around, leaving you to fill in the blanks. There were lots of loose ends for characters that a lot of time was spent on, but I’m not sure why? What was the purpose of Meggie? All that buildup that didn’t lead to anywhere? There were plot holes that just made things messy, didn’t make any sense, didn’t serve a purpose and those could have been edited out to make more room developing things that should have been developed. Also, if you have read more than a couple of these mysteries, you know there are bound to be red herrings. Spending three quarters of the book on what was an obvious red herring just ended up being a boring read. The reveal wasn’t so shocking and l was so happy it was over, I didn’t care. Then, the aftermath, was like a Hallmark movie where everyone got their happy ending. Bluch!! If all of it was true, from Ella’s childhood to her relationships to what happened, she needs therapy, not another boyfriend.

So, not for me, but I am just one opinion. Others have found it enjoyable and I am not one to judge. On this one, you will have to decide for yourself. ( )