From a prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author comes a chilling novel of deception under the sun… ex-boyfriend Marcus will be among them, but even he doesn’t know the secrets she keeps hidden behind a veil of lies. None of them really know her, and that’s only part of the problem.
Then again, how well does she know them?
When Jan awakens in utter darkness, chained to a wall, a manacle around her wrist, her echoing screams only give her a sense of how small her cell is. As she desperately tries to reconstruct what happened and determine who is holding her prisoner, dread covers despair like a hand clamped over her mouth. Because, like the Minotaur in the labyrinth in Greek myth, her captor will be coming back for her, and all the lies will catch up to her…
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This book was a crazy ride that never slowed down. Early on I started to realize that something was off with the main character, Jan. Okay. Not all protagonists are heroes, right? But things get really complicated when all the other characters also start showing their true colors…and not all good. This is definitely the vacation from hell, but it made for an interesting and fast read. I enjoyed every terrible thing that happened.
Book source ~ Kindle First
Jan is reuniting with her “vacation friends” she and her ex-boyfriend Marcus hooked up with five years ago. They are rich and travel in much more affluent circles than her and Marcus, but Jan wants to recapture the fun. Except, was it as fun as she remembers?
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Jan is unlikeable, but the other two couples are worse. Well, ok, one of them is okay. I don’t remember her name, but she is the actress. The rest are terrible. Marcus is a decent guy. Jan is pathetic, but at least she knows she is. She comes through in the end, but otherwise, gugh.
Now for the writing. No. It’s awful.
The plot. Could have been really something, but the characters and the writing drag it down into the Pit of Despair.
There are current scenes and flashback scenes until it’s all current events. If the writing was better this could have worked out, but as it is, it’s annoying.
And as a final word, good lord, can these characters drink or what? Why would anyone think it’s fun to do nothing but drink? Especially when you’re vacationing in such a gorgeous spot as Crete? No. Just, no.
All-in-all I do not recommend this book.
I loved and hated this book, essentially because I hated the “villians” and the deceptions they wrought!
An unreliable narrator, a neurotic and truth-challenged protagonist, and mysterious incarceration keeps the reader guessing. The story, related in first person female voice, is an exquisitely written novel with flashes of foible humor and sprinkles of intrigue that keeps it light while showing us a compelling story. I was captivated in the first chapter and only wish the author had ended the story three chapter sooner. He had a great climactic scene that for me revealed all, but he kept on explaining. Of course, I did keep reading hoping for some gem to make it worth it, but no like a woman she just kept on talking, which I find phenomenal in itself since Andrew Hart is male.
I really enjoyed this book, but am giving it 4 stars because of the many inconsistencies in it. This story is exciting and original, and delves unexpectedly into the psychology behind people’s actions. The author also weaves greek mythology into the story is a nice touch. Each chapter alternates between the main character, Jan in the present (who is chained in a cell, with no memory of how she got there,) and Jan a week ago in the past (who is recounting the events leading up to her present imprisonment.) We learn early on, that the past Jan lies extensively about anything and everything, but is fortunate to have 2 rich acquaintances (Simon & Melissa) who are paying for her trip to Greece to join them for a reunion party. Joining the 3 for the reunion party, are Marcus, Jan’s ex-boyfriend, another couple (Brad & Kristin), and Gretchen, a woman she has never met before. The book reads quite a bit as a “whodunit”, in regards to who has chained up Jan. The author masterfully writes in a suspenseful way, that it is easy to believe that any of her 6 reunion mates could be guilty, along with the possibilities that Jan is lying about the whole episode, or that an outsider unrelated to their reunion party is the culprit. Most surprising was the reason behind Jan’s captivity, which in retrospect, the author had dropped several clues about. Throughout most of the book, the different characters are intriguing and believable. However, the book was also full of inconsistencies that I found greatly annoying. Most prominent as it carried through the entire book, extremely near-sighted Jan loses her glasses very early on in the book, then the rest of the book has her alternating between describing things at a distance that she could not possibly see, or has her lamenting being unable to see things that are much closer to her than some of the previous things she had described. There were many other little inconsistencies. To list some of the more prominent ones: 1) Jan while chained to the wall, lamenting that her arm stretches a millimeter short to grab a nail, when it seems obvious that she should stretch out her leg and grab it with her toes, 2) Jan being immediately affected when walking into a room full of carbon monoxide, but the carbon monoxide having no effect on another character that walks into the room, not to mention the other characters who had been exposed to the carbon monoxide for hours not already being dead 3) Jan’s escape from being chained in a way that does not seem at all physically possible short of a huge adrenaline rush which she did not have, 4) Jan not having any thoughts or concerns about water, despite being chained up for hours without any water (not to mention she had no thoughts of any other human concerns, such as food, going to the bathroom, or being cold.) 5) the trial scene where the guilty party inexplicably takes the stand, even though Greece does protect against self-incrimination, 6) admittedly I don’t know Greek law, but it seems unlikely that “multiple life sentences” would be given to someone for manslaughter and attempted murder 7) and admittedly this is a minor part, but when Jan mentions that her bra is “soft and comfortable”…um just no, bras are never soft or comfortable for the woman wearing them. Overall, this is a book that is worth reading and thinking about, but it is unfortunate that there are so many inconsistencies distracting from the story.
I felt like this was a little predictable, but I liked the weaving of Greek Mythology into the story.
Overall I think this is a great book. The storyline is well thought out and well written. I enjoyed the way the author swapped between what happened to what currently was happening. It kept me engaged in the book and wanting to know what was going to happen next. I had a bit of trouble connecting with the characters.
Audiobook Review: Kindly giving this a 3-Stars
First time read for this author and it seem like it was going to be an okay story. However, I had a hard time following it. This was one that started off good and got confusing somewhere in the middle and made its way back to good in the end.
This is a story where the major charactor is a liar who reunites with her friends in the Greek Islands. and decides to put on a “pretend” once again. However, pretending goes wrong and her secrets and lies catch up with her.
I thought parts of the story was unbelievable and the major character was very flawed. Dialogue between characters was terrible and expected better. Even though I didn’t find it an enjoyable listening …JMO, the story did have some pretty good twists especially at the end, when I thought it was all just a dream for her.
Great book, hard to put down,
It was a quick read if you can get through the first couple of chapters. A little dramatic. Unbelievable ending. Made it a good “beach read.”
Great storyline!
Kept me engrossed all the way to the end! Loved the way past & present was intertwined throughout the story, keeping you in suspense until the climax
Excellent twisted suspenseful story! Well written, captivating and likable characters. Keeps you guessing till the end! Makes me want to never make friends on vacation!
This book really held my attention and the characters were interesting.