 Published: April 17, 2018 by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (Macmillan) Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old con artist Jo Chastain is about to take on the biggest scam of her life: impersonating a missing girl. Life on the streets of Boston these past few years hasn’t been easy, and Jo is hoping to cash in on a little safety, a little security. She finds her opportunity in the Lovecrafts, a wealthy family with ties to the unsolved disappearance of Vivienne Weir, who vanished when she was nine. When Jo takes on Vivi's identity and stages the girl’s miraculous return, the Lovecrafts welcome her back with open arms. They give her everything she could want: love, money, and proximity to their intoxicating and unpredictable daughter, Temple. But nothing is as it seems in the Lovecraft household—and some secrets refuse to stay buried. As hidden crimes come to the surface, and lines of deception begin to blur, Jo must choose to either hold onto an illusion of safety, or escape the danger around her before it’s too late. |
*** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This fact has not changed my opinion. ***
I am always game to try a new YA mystery and/or thriller. I had heard good things about this author so when I had the opportunity to join the blog tour for this one I thought I would take advantage of my desire to read the author and give it a try. This was a really unique thriller and I did enjoy it but it wasn't one that blew me away.
One of the things that I did love about this book is the tension. When you are reading a thriller this is definitely what you want, you want to be thrilled. You want a book that is tense and leave you curious and questioning. That's exactly what this book did. It kept you wondering what was going to happen next, when the other shoe was going to drop, and when the con was all going to go south. Because of that I kept reading in the hopes of something crazy and intense happening. It kept me engaged and reading because of that.
That being said, the plot here was not exactly what I was hoping for. It was interesting and it did keep me curious, but it never really delivered on any of the anticipation for me. I think my biggest frustration what the plot however was that it was so basic. This is a short read, which is fine, but I wanted more depth. I've read some short reads that were jam-packed but this wasn't one of them. The tension was there but my mind was spinning with all kinds of possibilities and none of them came true. When it did reach the conclusion for me things just kind of fizzled out. There were some big reveals early in the book but they didn't quite have the weight that I was hoping for. But this was probably my fault because of the way I was imagining things. I should have just experienced the book instead of imagining the possibilities.
As far as the characters go, however, they were really interesting and complex. Our main character in this book is Jolene. Jolene is a con artist and therefore not the kind of character who you think that you would sympathize with, but Savage does a great job of making her likable. She has a bit of a tragic past and is the kind of character who you want to see settled and happy. But maybe I like Jo so much because all the other characters were so odious. The Lovecrafts definitely had secrets and I kept keeping them at arms length. They were definitely odious though, especially Temple, and honestly that is one of the things that made them likable and interesting.
All in al this was an interesting and engaging read. It was a fast and unique mystery that had a lot of really good tension even if the plot didn't exactly blow me away.
I give In Her Skin by Kim Savage 8.5 out of 10 stars
Have you read In Her Skin? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!
