An utterly addictive and twisty thriller, full of dark family secrets and deadly stakes. Perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out.
She came from nothing.
Avery has a plan: keep her head down, work hard for a better future.
Then an eccentric billionaire dies, leaving her almost his entire fortune. And no one, least of all Avery, knows why.
They had everything.
Now she must move into the mansion she’s inherited.
It’s filled with secrets and codes, and the old man’s surviving relatives –
a family hell-bent on discovering why Avery got ‘their’ money.
Now there’s only one rule: winner takes all.
Soon she is caught in a deadly game that everyone in this strange family is playing.
But just how far will they go to keep their fortune?
‘A fantastic rollercoaster of a book! We Were Liars meets The Da Vinci Code. I loved it!’ Kat Ellis, author of Harrow Lake
‘A thrilling blend of family secrets, illicit romance and a high-stakes treasure hunt . . . The nonstop twists kept me guessing until the very last page!’ Katharine McGee, New York Times bestselling author of American Royals
This book said in its description that it was for fans of Knives Out. I was down for a good mystery thriller, but I personally didn’t love Knives Out. It was definitely a good movie with good acting, and the mystery part was fun, but I felt so awkward watching most of the scenes. This book kept the good mystery in and took out the awkward watching part that I disliked. I was so excited to read it, and flew through it!
Avery has a very complicated life. Her father is always missing so she lives with her sister and tries to get her to break up with her toxic boyfriend. At the same time, she is trying to ace school so she can get into a good college to make a better life. This seems like a lot for one teen girl to handle, but she has her best friend Max to vent to. Then, a strange boy shows up at her school, inviting her and her sister out of the country for a will reading. Turns out, she has gone from being broke to being an heiress of billions of dollars overnight. And she has to live in the house with the family of this old man she’s never met for at least a year, even though they hate her for “stealing” their money. Why did Tobias Hawthorne give his wealth to a girl he’d never met? What was the real reason he would cut his family off this way?
I have to say, the romance, I didn’t love it. I felt like there wasn’t much chemistry between the characters that had the most romantic scene in this novel, and I feel like it didn’t add much to the mystery. It just confused me a little, and made me worried for the characters.
Everything else about this novel was great! The mystery, although the clues seemed to be placed randomly, was really good. I feel like there was a high chance they would have missed a clue just by accident since the house was so large, but all the clues linked to one another leading the characters on a pretty large hunt. The action scenes in this book also kept me on the edge of my seat. I never knew what was going to happen from one scene to the next.
I liked the relationship between Avery and her sister. Avery tried so hard to protect her sister, but her sister had to make the decision of whether or not to leave in the end. I feel like this reflected those in real life trying to lead friends and loved ones out of toxic relationships.
I don’t want to say too much about the side characters, but they were all unique. I see that this book seems to be the first in a series (at least according to Goodreads) so I can’t wait to see how these characters flesh out in future installments.
The ending of the book felt a tad anticlimactic? I feel like the end had been leading up to so much more than what it was. But I know that there are more secrets to be revealed since this is not a standalone book, so I am definitely excited to see what is to come in future.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good YA mystery novel.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books.
