Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader/Frenzy
My Rating - 3/5
Newlyweds Sam Statler and Annie Potter are head over heels, and excited to say good-bye to New York and start a life together in Sam's sleepy hometown in upstate New York. Or, it turns out, a life where Annie spends most of her time alone while Sam, her therapist husband, works long hours in his downstairs office, tending to the egos of his (mostly female) clientele.Little does Sam know that through a vent in his ceiling, every word of his sessions can be heard from the room upstairs. The pharmacist's wife, contemplating a divorce. The well-known painter whose boyfriend doesn’t satisfy her in bed. Who could resist listening? Everything is fine until the French girl in the green mini Cooper shows up, and Sam decides to go to work and not come home, throwing a wrench into Sam and Annie's happily ever after.
Thrillers are particularly depended on their story not being revealed in advance. This makes them an interesting challenge to review. Often the best parts of the story are ones that you don't want to reveal. Goodnight Beautiful is a book that falls within this category.
I don't mind when books are inspired by other media. Art is made to inspire and that often leads to the creation of other art. This book is inspired by a popular classic horror novel that if I named would be a spoiler. It mostly worked for me and I think fans of that novel will appreciate this one. There were times, however, when you really feel that influence. It made the latter half not as gripping as the first because I felt like I knew this story. It is different enough to keep you guessing but its inspiration does ring a little loud at times. It's one of the things about this novel that just didn't resonate with me.
The characters in this one are certainly fascinating. There are a few memorable ones who leave you wanting to know even more about them. Unreliable characters and thrillers are a perfect pair and that remains true here. There are other characters though that will be forgotten with the turn of the last page.
The pacing is a large part of why I enjoyed this novel. It is definitely a page turner with each twist or reveal compelling you to keep reading. Fans of thrillers will know this feeling all too well and also know the disappointment of when a novel fails to deliver this.
The ending does get a little messy and just isn't as taunt as the beginning of this book. It felt a little mismatched compared to the rest and just didn't come together as strongly as I wanted it to.
Go into this one with as little knowledge as possible. I feel it works best that way. It is an experience and it works better if you allow the story to reveal itself in the manner and pacing that it is supposed to. Let go and enjoy the ride this book wants to take you on. You'll get much more out of it that way.
This starts out as a very taunt thriller whose ending did not quite deliver for me. It does offer up a fun, entertaining read that delivers some well crafted twists and that makes it worth the read.
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