The hardest thing about […] is that when he says “I love you,” I can’t tell whether that’s a lie too.”
- Author: Freida McFadden
- Type: Novel
- Format I read in: Kindle
- Source: Library
- Genre: Thriller/Mystery
- Total Pages: 373
- Date Started: April 01, ’26
- Date Ended: April 02, ’26
- Language: English
↳ warnings: murder, animal abuse (brief mentions), kidnapping, sa (implied that it happens to background characters).
↳ why i picked it: Book club pick!
↬ summary
White family lives in a nice neighborhood and are the typical white picket fence picture perfect family. However, the son Liam has had a few incidents growing up that have turned some eyes. It all comes to a head when a girl goes missing, and it all leads to Liam. Did he do it?
↬ thoughts
Freida is slowly becoming an author whose books I enjoy. I like her writing and the way her plot twists end up happening.
I enjoy this book; I could have finished it in one sitting if I had the time. I loved the interview style more than anything tho!
Erika is a character that I disliked the whole time, even when she is the main narrator. She was such a boy mom, like the ones on TikTok that seemed to be in love with their boys. It was way too much at times, but also confusing when she just couldn’t go a second without saying her kid was the devil. I also don’t like the blatant favoritism between the kids. It was yucky.
The plot twist: Two chapters before it happened, I called it. I like it tho and it made sense (unlike another plot twist in a book of hers that I hated). Creepy men being creepy always fit. Jason (the father) is fucked up for all of it, but then even letting his son take the fault for so much shit like wow.
I could have done without the ending; it left me unsatisfied, so I am choosing to ignore it. I wish we had gotten, even if small, Liam’s POV since the entire book is about him. This book is basically narrated by women about shitty things men make. I did enjoy Olivia’s POV a lot tho it felt realistic.
I do recommend this book; it was entertaining.
— much love, anto
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