Creepy, well told story with a smattering of paranormal. Lovely narration by Richard Armitage.

Every time I get a book without realizing it’s written in present tense, I make a disgusted noise and tell myself I’m going to read samples from now on. But then it happens again, so basically I’m a lying liar who lies. To myself. On a monthly basis.

This time, though, I’m not even mildly irritated. This book was one hell of a reading slump remedy. It took me weeks to get through my previous book. I bought this on impulse and burned through it in two days, something I haven’t been able to do since pandemic anxiety sent my ability to focus on an extended holiday.

Freaking yay for sociopaths out for revenge! Jane is a fascinating character. She’s not the stereotypical Hollywood sociopath. She didn’t spend her childhood carving up the neighborhood pets before moving on to larger prey. She isn’t a master tactician whose every plan goes off without a hitch. And thank goodness, or this book wouldn’t have been nearly as engrossing. She’s impulsive, she makes mistakes, and that’s half the fun for her. And for me, too.

***I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books!***

There are not many books out there that feature main characters who are deaf or hearing impaired. That is what initially drew me to this book. I took a few years of American Sign Language in my younger years and had interest in becoming an interpreter at one point, so I spent a lot of time within the community. It’s a completely unique perspective on the world so I was interested to see a murder mystery done from this viewpoint.

The author did not disappoint. It was very apparent that she is highly familiar with the deaf and hearing impaired community. She is aware of how the community is viewed in society and the ways that people believe they might be helping butthey are actually hindering communication. I was very impressed with how well the author translated those ideas into the book..

The story was also very well told and nicely paced. I enjoyed the alternate viewpoints of various suspects prior to the murder followed by some chapters in the present with the investigation. This helped me to start coming to some conclusions about what I thought happened, while progressing with the investigation too. All of the suspects were given plausible reasons for why they could have been the murderer. Frankly, even though I had my own idea about who it was, I would have found any of the suspects believable if I had been wrong. I did end up guessing the murderer correctly, but not the twist. That shook me. I was stunned. I stayed up far later than my bedtime to finish the book because I had to know the rest. That’s how much it shocked me.

The only flaw with the story is that I felt we paid too much attention to Paige personally. Following her difficulties with men and her personal struggles with the investigation hindered the rest of the story at certain points.

Overall it was an engaging story that is told from a unique perspective. I loved it.