Goodness. Where to begin? The hardest part about writing a review for this book is filtering through my emotions. I obviously enjoyed the read, because it is one of the quickest reads I have done in a long time. I finished the book within fours days. I ended it around 2 a.m. on a weekend. Not the best idea. I had nightmares for days.

The mystery kept my intrigued. The author let the reader know just enough information to keep them sticking around for more. Personally, I hoped for Ellie’s safety until I knew the truth. I was holding on for her life. I am still sick to my stomach when I think about her being left to die alone in the basement. I think about her surroundings, the smells, the pain, and sounds. Yep, that is enough to keep my awake at night. Thankfully, I am mostly over the tauma that this book left me with.

Overall, I enjoyed the read because I was into it. The story was too disturbing for me to ever want to read it again. This is why I have mixed emotions.

The character, Poppy, seemed like a perfect little adult robot for the first half of the book. I guess we can’t blame her for her personal trauma. She did seem weird the whole time to me. My guess was that she may have been Ellie and Floyd’s daughter. Thankfully, Noelle did not somehow make that happen.

I am not a parent yet, but this story makes me wary for the people I will entrust with my children one day. There were so many red flags pointing to Noelle being a psychopath. The police did nothing in my opinion. I can’t remember if the book with Ellie’s note in it ended up at the police station. I think the person who found it in the library delivered it to the police. So sad! Hopefully, this helps the community be more aware of red flags!!!

I think my favorite character was Bonny. She was the only seemingly normal person in the whole story. We also did not know much about her so that may be why too.

I was weirded out by Theo and Hannah getting together. Hannah and Ellie seemed to have a weird relationship. I wondered, in the beginning, if she got rid of Ellie because Ellie was the perfect child. I also hope Laurel never said that directly to Hannah.

Crazy story, but looking forward to Book Club this weekend to discuss more.

Until then…