Reese Witherspoon’s book club choices are a bit hit and miss; this one’s a miss. It’s billed as a murder mystery but the mystery remains unresolved, to the extent that we’re never even sure if there was a murder. The author gives the main character a happy ending and then just kind of forgets about solving the murder, if there was one. It’s one of those sneaky books where you don’t realise how dumb it is until you get to the last page. Then you want to throw it across the room.
Sure, the book has its charms; it’s well written, atmospheric and an interesting portrait of how an abandoned child survives and thrives in the least likely place. But if you’re going to chuck in a murder mystery, commit to it. Otherwise it just feels unfinished.
My advice is to read another of Reece’s book club choices instead – Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman. That one starts with a wife burying her husband. Now that’s commitment.
