Elisabeth lives in a tiny, isolated Alaskan village with her super-smart daughter and obnoxious husband. Their lives are upended when a German pilot comes to stay at their boarding house and ends up murdering a villager. (It's 1941, so...)
Oh, he also claims knowledge of Elisabeth’s twin sister who disappeared when they were children.
I picked up this ARC because the publishers described it as The Dry meets Silence of the Lambs. It IS about a woman who corresponds with a murderer, so there’s that. But mostly, we watch Elisabeth make all the bad choices as she (SLOWLY) chases after her missing sister. She complies with ever more crazy and insulting demands from the prisoner, clearly designed to keep her isolated and obsessed.
The atmosphere, setting and main character were amazing! My gripe is that the other characters felt less real. (Also, I didn't understand Elisabeth’s daughter’s motivation. Why would she do what she does??) And, this is another book where we are in one woman's obsessed brain for far too long without relief.
But if you’re looking for a book to make you feel like you’re freezing to death and watching a woman go completely insane (SLOWLY) – try this!
(A review copy was provided by the publisher.)
Rating: 75/100 or ⭐⭐⭐
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