Immersive Reading at Its Best
If you know me, you know I devour Sarah Pekkanen books in a day, and this one was no exception! Doing an immersive read (listening to the audio while reading along with the ebook ) made the experience even better. With a degree in psychology, this premise was right up my alley. I knocked out the first half in bed this morning and finished the rest during a reading sprint with friends.
We follow Betty, Ivy, Kathleen, and Helen—four women entangled in a psychological experiment that feels deeply shady from the jump (because honestly, when are those ever not shady?). Flash forward to the present day: Betty hires Riley as a live-in caretaker right when Riley’s life is falling apart. Cue the unraveling of secrets, lies, and the kind of twists that make you pause and gasp, “Oh… oh NO they didn’t.”
This book straddles historical fiction and psychological thriller like it owns both genres—and pulls it off effortlessly. The pacing? Sharp. The tension? Delicious. The reveals? Chef’s kiss.
If a book makes you side-eye every single character while simultaneously needing to know all their deepest secrets, it’s doing something right.
Rating: 4/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The only reason this isn’t a full 5 stars is because I’ve read so much of Sarah’s backlist and a few of her other books still hold the top spot in my heart. That said, this is an incredible standalone and a great entry point if you’re new to her writing!
