3.5 stars

This was sent to me by the publisher for promotion.

This is a slow-paced mystery/thriller. While there are two timelines we are following, this is a story focused on one single suspect with very passive investigation. The journey is more internal, about self-discovery and recovery of memory and even recovery from addiction.

That slower paced worked better for me at some points vs others. I did sometimes start to feel the drag. I also thought that the beginning when we were fully in the mystery and able to use said mystery to develop the themes of this book was stronger. Once we got nearer to an explanation, I felt more detached from the book.

That said, I did enjoy the themes explored here-- ideas of home and returning to home and addiction and memory and childhood and recovery. It was all heartfelt and thoughtful and the creepiness of the setting matched the themes and the pace of the story.

A solid mystery/thriller.