Enjoyed the suspense. Enjoyed the relationship between Sam and Stella. Descriptions of all of Stella's friends feels like the start of a series about each friend and left me wanting to know more about them.

Christine Feehan is one of my most read authors and I’ve read everything she’s ever written apart from her recent Sunrise thrillers with this being the first book in that series. This was in many ways similar to her other books in that there is a strong element of violence and childhood trauma, there’s the hint of the paranormal, there’s the pursuit of an evil villain and kind of a search for healing and peace after experiencing the worst of humanity. But it was also different from her other series in that it wasn’t as overtly paranormal despite Stella’s foreshadowing dreams about serial killers in a small California mountain community, it was certainly more closed door and less overtly erotic, catering to a wider mainstream audience than her out and out romances.

I really enjoyed that at its core, despite the sinister nature of a serial killer thriller plot, because of the soothing, quiet small town setting, this still felt like a soothing sort of book about friendship and a patient and kind and supportive kind of healing love that Stella and Sam find together.

I liked the cast of friends as secondary characters… I think one thing I find with this author sometimes is that she tends to overdo everyone’s characterization and back story. There’s almost a competition to outdo each other in the level of childhood trauma faced and as for the superlatives, all the heroines are the most beautiful, talented, intelligent, successful, athletic, animal-loving, attractive, desirable, stylish women that ever did woman. They’re all superlative in the same exact ways and so it can feel a bit “much” at times. I feel like the characterisation of the friendship group would be better if people could have even job interview flaws or if everyone was a little less superlative in the same ways- all talented athlete climbers, boulderers, runners- even the ones that don’t like it are amazing at it naturally by some miracle… I don’t think there would have been anything wrong with having a character that was just different. 

Anyway, all that said, I still really enjoyed this. I thought it was very slow moving, but I kept coming back to it. I guessed the killer about 2/3 of the way in because I’m not the best at solving mysteries. But even knowing the villain’s identity didn’t ruin this for me. I’m excited about this new series and glad the second book is already out. I was a little scared of starting this because while I don’t mind romantic suspense, I’m not a huge thriller reader- I think this was an accessible thriller that was romantic in aspects but could potentially also please non-romance readers even though I would still categorize this as a romantic thriller of sorts. I’m excited for this new series and can’t wait to read books featuring the other characters.

What could have been better?
The mental health and alcoholism and self harm was not addressed adequately, in my opinion and, as a mental health professional, I feel like the self-harm component was a bit romanticized which I really didn’t like.

Also, sometimes I felt like it was summarizing more than storytelling at the beginning.

What I enjoyed?
While, this was from an older millennial perspective (the main was out of college by 2008 and I was still in the 8th grade), I still found relatable moments.

I thought it brought great light to toxic ideas of success & the perfectionist culture that many millennials are brought up in.

False promises from our elders of college and careers as capitalism takes over education and the market making it more and more unaffordable with no rise to the minimum wage or the availability of jobs but the need for education that puts one in debt. I felt that HARD. 

The main character was not my favorite for a multitude of reasons but I feel like her character arc made up for it.

I’ll end with my favorite and most relatable quote that captures what I wish I’d known: “If I’d been allowed to fail at something when I was a kid maybe I would have learned to do it better.”