I thought I knew precisely what was happening and why, and I was wrong. I liked that the author gave me as the reader just enough wins and I-knew-it moments, coupled with intermittent curveballs that I kept listening. The writing itself was a cut above the average suspense novel in terms of lyricism and sheer creative use of language so that I listened not only to find out what happened next, but to hear how it was communicated by the author. That’s a rare surprise in this genre which is one that works best (in my opinion) with very simple, not overly expressive language.

I also loved that the author had a very diverse cast of characters. The main protagonist, Anna is of Japanese descent, and occasionally, the author identifies supporting characters in part by race, not only mentioning when they were not white, but sometimes mentioning when they were. At first, I thought that was a tell, indicating that the author must not be white himself, but when it happened a few times, it came across as a subtle nod to the fact that white is not and should not be the “default race” of characters if race is not mentioned. I don’t know whether that was what was intended, but I received it as such and appreciated it.

I listened to this book in its entirety and liked both the male and female narrators. They weren’t exemplary, but were very good — expressive and emotional when called for, and dispassionate narrators when appropriate. I would be interested in other work by this author. Recommended for those looking for a fast-moving, twisty (but not too twisty), light mystery-suspense yarn.