FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book
from Revell Reads. A positive review was not required. These are my honest
thoughts.
What a twisty, complicated story! This was an atypical
Lynette Eason read for me in that I was not able to figure out very many
details prior to a couple of pages before the twists or reveals came. Sometimes
her books are more predictable to me (yet still quite enjoyable), but this one
kept me guessing throughout. Something that aided that was the high tension
present in every chapter and the stakes that kept ramping up with each turn of
events.
The style was good overall. I did struggle at times to keep
a few characters straight. I think this was because many names were given in a
few patches early on. That made it more difficult for me to settle in to which
characters were POV holders and which were supporting. It settled out in my
mind eventually, but this was a bit of a struggle for me. There were a handful
of word or phrase choices that bugged me, and they seemed out of character for
the author compared to her earlier books. Other aspects of the style were
great. The author voice was clear, the military details seemed spot-on, and the
human trafficking aspect appeared well researched and applied. My reading experience
was enhanced by the details of the way of life in Afghanistan, particularly as
it pertained to American female military personnel, as this helped me
immediately feel immersed in the tale.
The plot twists were fabulous, and I never really got a
foothold on figuring things out ahead of time. Usually, with an Eason book, I
can figure out one or two of the main bad guys way before the big reveal. This
time, though, I was unable to do so. The pacing and surprises and high tension
lent themselves well to creating an edge-of-my-seat reading experience that
kept me mentally off kilter in the best way.
