C. N. Orr
4 out of 5 stars. I really wanted to love-love-love this book.
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2026
Format: Kindle
Verified Purchase
I really wanted to love-love-love this book. It has a lot going for it. Witty dialogue; the adept portrayal of a small town that is a community and takes care of each other; all the feels (interiority of the characters was brilliant). The prose was clever:
“... Maddie had ... declared war on her cereal spoon as if it had personally betrayed her.”
“Mrs. Callahan appeared from nowhere and announced that the pie table needed “visual hierarchy,” which sounded like a crime against dessert.”
“The griddle spat like it resented the hour.”
However, there were some items that lowered the review from love-love-love to like-a-lot. SPOILER ALERT: One was the lack of explanation or resolution for major plot events. No reasons given for a little girl being kidnapped twice. No reason provided for the kidnapping of a health-care worker. Another reason was that the timeline was in chronological order with the exception of one chapter. This was confusing and didn’t enhance the plot. Transitions were lacking, which sometimes gave me whiplash.
Also, the repetition of phrases (with slight variations) was tiring: “...more than it probably should have...” “... landed heavier than they should have.” “... I stood there longer than I needed to ...”
Overall, the confusion that made me reread earlier chapters detracted from the book’s impact, but the dialogue and interiority was excellent.
