I am an eclectic reader with preferences for crime/thriller/suspense, historical fiction, literature and contemporary fiction. For more books and other bookish posts visit my blog at Ciska's Book Chest
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book on Netgalley from the publisher in return for an honest review*
Author
Elizabeth L. Silver is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, the MA programme in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia in the UK, and Temple University Beasley School of Law. She has worked as an ESL Instructor in Costa Rica, editorial assistant at a publishing house in New York, adjunct instructor of English composition and literature at several universities in Philadelphia, and an attorney in both Texas and California.
Review
I requested this book on Netgalley because I was intrigued by the synopsis. Imagine being sentenced to death and all of a sudden the mother of the person you presumably murdered makes an attempt to get you of death row that must be all kinds of weird. But as you will see at the bottom I am not that enthusiastic about the book after reading it and it mostly has to do with emotions.
The story is solid. While it develops you get answers to your questions, you can guess and puzzle along for motives and situations that will happen until you get the whole puzzle. Elizabeth L. Silver did a great job in keeping the last piece of the puzzle till the last page. But...I despised Noa and her attitude. I experienced the story as dark and depressing and negative. Noa does not want to be rescued never. She think she deserves all th bad she gets and even though that feeling gets explained it made me dread picking up the book. I do not like depressed people who cannot see light at the end of the tunnel. And even though getting touched in any way by a book this bad could be something good I just cannot get any positive feeling with this book. But please if you do not mind self loathing protagonists do pick up this book because the puzzle is done so well.