Summary: Perla Wultz, her husband Grant and daughter Sophie are a wealthy family living in a gated community in California. They appear to have a practically perfect life. Grant is devoted to his wife and daughter. Perla has curated the perfect house, the perfect wardrobe and the perfect family. An hour away, Leewood Folcrum is serving life in prison for a horrific murder spree at his daughter’s twelfth birthday party. Everyone believes they know what happened that night, decades ago, but Leewood has never told anyone the full story and there are important details that no one knows. The lives of Leewood Folcrum and the Wultz family are about to intersect in the most terrifying way.

Thoughts: This novel took my emotions, and my heart rate, on a rollercoaster ride! A. R. Torre has a talent for creating complex characters that aren’t especially likeable yet are very intriguing. The reader needs to know what happens to them. The story of the Wultz family is told in short, snappy chapters from multiple POV. At the beginning of each chapter there is a snippet of a quote from a person (neighbor, relative, reporter, etc.) giving a perspective on either the family or Leewood Folcrum. This is a very effective technique, and gives the reader a better picture of how others viewed them. The tension rachets up quickly as the novel progresses and I could not put it down for the last 100 pages!

If you are a fan of fast-paced domestic thrillers, then I definitely recommend that you try this author. This is my second novel from her and she is becoming one of my go-to thriller authors. Many thanks to the author and to Thomas & Mercer for the copy to read.