Short Take: Started strong, then dove into predictability.
(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)
Hello, my beloved Nerdlings! Today is one of the best holidays of the year – half-price candy day! Even though the Reese’s hearts kind of look like butts, and there’s a distressing amount of coconut hidden in those shiny red boxes, there’s still plenty to love. (But seriously, does anyone actually LIKE coconut? Or do sociopaths just pretend to enjoy it to inflict it upon the rest of us?)
And speaking of disappointment…
In Keep Your Friends Close, Mary’s at a very low point in her life when she meets Willa. She’s going through an ugly divorce from a very wealthy & powerful man (and basically his whole old-money family is making her life hell), and is terrified of losing custody of her three year old son, Alex. Willa is also married to a rich man and has a three year old son of her own, Jack Jr. The two of them immediately become best friends, until Willa suddenly ghosts Mary, and seemingly vanishes.
Two months later, Mary is starting to get her life in order. She’s moved out of the city and into Woodstock, and it seems like her ex is finally calming down and the divorce might be settled peacefully. But then Mary runs into Willa in Woodstock, but Willa’s name is Annie, and instead of Jack Jr., she’s pushing a stroller with a little girl named Poppy.
Oh, and some of Mary’s hateful ex-in-laws are hanging around as well. So it’s not entirely surprising when somebody ends up dead.
Duckies, the first part of this book grabbed me by the jibblies. And the big switcheroo at about the 35% mark actually had me thinking that this one might, MIGHT be worthy of a Gone Girl comparison. But unfortunately, once we found out the truth about Willa, it just wasn’t that interesting. It’s like the author decided to take a seriously great setup (for real, one of the better beginnings I’ve come across) and toss it into the Thriller Story Maker Template, stripping the second half of any bit of originality.
The red herrings are obvious, the main character just isn’t that smart, and pretty much every man is a super-rich spoiled caricature. Finally, yes, carrying the bulk of the mental load is a real issue for women. But I swear on all that’s holy, listening to these women go on and on and ON about it made me feel like a henpecked husband. And I’m a husband-having wife.
Overall, a pretty good swing, but a definite miss.
The Nerd’s Rating: TWO HAPPY NEURONS (and a margarita the size of my head. Because I always want a margarita the size of my head and this book didn’t help with that.)
Book Nerd's Brain Candy 