Emma's on top of the world despite the obstacles of her past. She's thriving in her career as a divorce attorney, she's got a wonderful family and a supportive husband, and she's got all the comforts that life has to offer. But as her fortieth birthday approaches, she's haunted by the past. It's the age she's dreaded her entire life. Not because she fears getting older, but because her mother used to tell her she'd snap just as she did.

None of this is made easier when her sister, Phoebe, comes back to town with news that their mother (who has been confined to a secure unit since an incident when they were children) might be dying. Emma has no interest in seeing her but changes her mind when strange things begin happening to her. Is it the curse of her fortieth birthday, or has someone been sabotaging her? If so, who?

An exciting lead-in no doubt, but the story took a strange turn by the end that felt less like a plot twist and more like the author had been backed into a corner and just wanted to get out of it the quickest way possible. The entire lead-up felt like a waste of my time for a resolution that was way too nuanced to have only been discussed for a few pages. 

Repetition was also an issue for me. There was so much back and forth, retelling the same facts of the story over and over and nothing ever got resolved. Arguments between Emma and her husband were always the same and Emma's defensiveness only grew worse. While some of that is justified given Emma's lack of sleep and concern about the situation, she's also her own worst enemy. Her continuing to refuse any sort of communication even while this lack of communication is making her entire life crumble was infuriating and did nothing to add to the suspense of the plot.

Definitely disappointed that this ended up missing the mark for me because I was initially really into it. Even when I realized this wasn't going to live up to my hopes, I did feel compelled to read to the end to know how it ended.