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Dec 13, 2016s390325 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Great suspense/ mystery novel, couldn't put it down! I was surprised by the revelation of the murderer, as well as the ending (not the "25 years later" ending). There were so many plot twists and turns that it was a little much at times; I couldn't remember which detective was which and who had said what to whom... so it was kind of surprising that Maya was able to put it all together at the end. I thought Maya's character was written sympathetically and the descriptions of how she experiences PTSD were enlightening. The character relationship that I liked the best was between Maya and her former co-pilot; he is always there for her and tries to steer her back to a healthy mental state. I would have liked to have known more about Maya and why she joins the military and enjoys guns and warfare after growing up in a "hippie" household. I wish there had been more characterization of Joe before the big reveal at the end. (*Spoiler alert*) Without any information about Joe, one is left to assume that he and Maya had a happy but brief relationship. Perhaps he was characterized more in (based on the comments here) the other book(s) he was featured in. I would have liked to understand more about why he acted the way he did beyond the ideas that because he was rich he was used to doing whatever he wanted and getting away with it, and his family was able to cover up for him. I personally think he was a sociopath, if he killed someone as a teenager just because they were a rival on his soccer team, and forced his brother to help. I was disappointed with the ending; although shocking, once we know more about what Joe did over the years and that he killed Maya's sister, it isn't surprising that she kills him. I was surprised his family would have figured out that Maya killed Joe since the ones left don't seem particularly bright. I was disappointed that Maya killed herself/ let herself be killed, because it seems that part of why she is trying to figure out what's going on and what has happened is to protect her daughter- and she can't protect her daughter if she's dead. Yes, it's a great way to get your former in-laws to confess and get caught on camera.... but realistically, if the hidden camera was not live-streaming (or even if it was, I don't know how that would hold up in court), but just recording, don't you think that once they realized the camera was there they would have destroyed the video and figured out a way to blame everything on Maya? Then they would have been the ones to raise Maya's daughter, not Maya's brother in law, no matter what she put in a letter. I understand that from a writer's standpoint, it's easier to have her killed off at the end. Realistically, she likes to be in control and she wants to protect her daughter. I think it would be more true to her character to find another way to expose her former in-law's dirty dealings and then flee the country with her daughter. I think that discord is why the author put in the "20 years later" (or however many years it was) ending- so we could see that despite these obvious flaws in legally protecting her daughter, she was just fine and apparently Maya is re-incarnated in her granddaughter. Or that's what I took that last part to be. Still, a great page-turner!