I love a novel with a sarcastic, funny, smart-ass lead character, and Lucy doesn’t disappoint. She has moved to L.A., but she’s called back to the small Texas town where she grew up, for her Grama’s 80th birthday bash. Lucy had escaped Plumpton five years earlier, after her best friend Savvy was murdered. Lucy was found at the crime scene, disoriented and covered in blood. She had no memory of what had happened, and there were no witnesses. Although there was not enough evidence to convict her, pretty much everyone in town dismissed her claim of memory loss and considered her to be guilty. Lucy moved to California to try to disappear into the population there, where no one knew her.
On page one, she has been fired from her job, outed on the internet, and dumped by her boyfriend. Gram calls and Lucy reluctantly agrees to return to Plumpton for a week; she is approached by a podcaster, Ben, and while she is less than enthusiastic about dredging up the past, she agrees to be somewhat cooperative as he tries to solve the cold case.
Several suspects emerge, including her ex-husband Matt, who turns out to be both manipulative and abusive, and her childhood friend Emmett, who has long harbored deep longing for Lucy. Other characters include Lucy’s parents, who may know more than they are saying, her likable grandmother who has taken up day-drinking as an octogenarian, and Ben, the Listen for the Lie podcast host who may or may not be on Lucy’s side.
Tintera is a great writer with a quick wit and a real feel for her characters. The fact that dead-girl Savvy is constantly whispering in Lucy’s ear is a hoot, and one that Lucy has learned to live with. By the novel’s end, all is reconciled, and Savvy’s voice is thankfully silenced. I highly recommend this novel; it’s billed as an adult thriller, but it’s not really scary and it’s just an easy mystery with a little romance thrown in. I give this four stars.
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