One fine Saturday afternoon, after PTM at GBee’s school, Mr.Bee, I and the kids went to the Ashoka One Mall, which is the closest mall to his school, like less than 1km away. (There is another mall which is even closer, but it is still under construction) Incidentally, Ashoka One Mall is GBee’s favourite mall. (KBee loves the Nexus Mall, we alternate between the malls, to satisfy them both!)
Anyway, after the usual car rides and toy train rides, both the kiddos were happy. That’s when I saw the bookstore. (During my days as a working woman, I would spend most of my lunch hours, browsing through Walden, the bookstore in our office premises. I sorely miss those days!)
Once inside, I quickly got what I wanted. Two books by Freida McFadden and one by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. I started reading the first book after returning home.
So here comes the review….
Review:
Written by : Freida McFadden
Published on : 1st October 2024
Read by Queen Bee on : 16th October 2025
This is the 4th Freida McFadden’s book, that I have read.
The book starts with Tom and his weird and mad love for Daisy Driscoll. It makes us wonder, do people like him even exist, but I guess they do!
Tom is a poor but handsome, clever but a little scaredy guy. He loves Daisy but also dreams of killing her. He probably has some mania related to blood like hemomania because he enjoys looking at blood or imagining blood! Yuk!
Daisy Driscoll, the school beauty, the girl Tom loves the most and the girl who loves and adores Tom.
Then there is Slug, Tom’s best friend, who has the habit of eating insects! (I have never read about two or more such characters in a book, ever.) Weird bunch, I tell you.
Also, there is Alison, bestie of Daisy, who hates Tom. She is one of those rare individuals who knows about the kind of a guy Tom is. She gets a weird vibe from him. These are one side of the story.
The story alternates between two sets of characters.
The other set of characters include Sydney Shaw, who has been unsuccessful in love and is into dating apps. She wants a steady boyfriend, marry him and settle down. But all she ever meets are weirdos like Kevin, who later becomes her stalker.
Sydney has two girl besties, Bonnie and Gretchen. Bonnie is in a serious relationship with a doctor, not even her friends have seen him.
Suddenly, Bonnie is found in her flat, dead, apparently tortured to death.
How did she die? Is the stalker Kevin the murderer or the super of the apartment Randy, who always gave Bonnie the creeps?
Meanwhile Sydney begins to date Dr.Tom Brewer, who has many secrets of his own. Who even contacts his girlfriend from a burner phone? Who lies about his name and place of work? Only suspicious individuals do.
Then there is Jake, Sydney’s ex, a cop who is set on finding Bonnie’s killer.
Just as Sydney begins to put two and two together, to guess the killer, she is in grave danger.
So many innocent people end up dead because of one supremely psychotic brain, so who is the killer?
What I like:
Each chapter is a page turner. It has twists and turns, rightly so, since it is a thriller.
What I don’t like:
The heroine Sydney is a little slow. She is gullible too, she is like a lesser liked version of Rachel Green from F.R.I.E.N.D.S!
When Sydney is in a near death situation, the only thing that’s on her side is, luck. She does nothing to save herself.
I don’t like the killer getting away with crime, after killing innocent people. No, not one bit!
But that’s not a good enough reason not to read, go ahead and read it. Tell me what you make of it.
P.S:
1. The next time someone in power like a cop, volunteers to do a background check on the person you are dating, ALWAYS say yes, take help. This is my advice to all potential heroines in thrillers and mysteries!
Let me bring my bowl of puffed rice. Time to read, Do Not Disturb!
Cheerio…
