"Alison Gaylin does it again with a compelling page turner of secrets, lies and murder."
Reviewed by Lynn Cunningham
Posted April 24, 2016
Suspense
Kelly Lund has not had an easy time of it. She is one half
of a set of twins. Catherine, her twin sister is completely
different when, at the age of 15, she takes her life.
Catherine had not had an easy time of it, either. Nursing a
deep desire to be an actress, she traveled in all of the
wrong circles in Hollywood. At least the wrong ones for a 15
year old girl with ambitions. Kelly is the quieter twin,
choosing to stay out of the limelight. Both girls live with
their mother in a small apartment but Catherine is living as
if she is an adult on her own.
No one truly knew why Catherine killed herself but Kelly
knew who she thought was responsible. It is with that
thought in mind that she enters the home of director John
McFadden during a star studded party he is giving one
fateful night. Shots are fired and John ends up dead. Kelly
is sent to prison for 25 years for murdering him.
While in prison, Kelly marries her best friend's younger
brother. Bellamy Sterling had rescued Kelly from a
friendless existence in high school and her brother, Shane,
had always held a crush for Kelly. Shane has waited for her
all this time to be released from prison but she cannot seem
to relate to him once they are living in the same house.
Then another murder happens and Kelly is, once again, in a
position to be counted as a suspect. But there is a lot more
going on here than meets the eye. Just as there were many
secrets at that first murder years ago, there are plenty of
them now. The question is will they come soon enough to save
Kelly this time?
I have been a huge fan of Alison Gaylin since the first book
I ever read by her and WHAT REMAINS OF ME delivers the
excellence that I have come to expect from her writing. Told
in a past to present back and forth manner, she weaves more
than just one story. However, these stories all lead to the
same destination in the end. That means that when you think
you have things all figured out; you most likely do not.
Written in a compelling style that kept me reading even when
I needed to be doing something else, WHAT REMAINS OF ME is
much more than just a mystery. It is the story of how what
seems like a single event affects those people closest to
it. That is just as enthralling as the mystery at the core
of this tale. Those people in WHAT REMAINS OF ME are all
very important to the story and I found myself reacting to
each of them in different ways.
There is not enough praise that I can offer WHAT REMAINS OF
ME that would be satisfactory to me. Consider this a
definite 5 star book and pick up a copy as soon as possible.
Then be prepared to be drawn into a masterful puzzle and
chain of events.
SUMMARY
The USA Today bestselling author of the Brenna
Spector series
returns with her most ambitious book to date, a
spellbinding novel of
psychological suspense, set in the glamorous, wealthy world
of Hollywood
—a
darkly imaginative and atmospheric tale of revenge and
betrayal,
presumed
guilt and innocence lost, dirty secrets and family ties
reminiscent of
the
bestsellers of Laura Lippman, Gillian Flynn, and Harlan
Coben.
Nobody’s perfect. Everybody’s got a drawer somewhere
with something
hidden
in it.
On June 28, 1980—the hottest night of the year—Kelly
Michelle Lund
shoots
and kills Oscar-nominated director John McFadden at a party
in his home.
.
. . And instantly becomes a media sensation, her chilling
smile fodder
for
national nightmares. For years, speculation swirls over the
enigmatic
seventeen-year-old’s motives, information she’s refused to
share.
Convicted
of the murder, she loses her youth and her freedom—but
keeps her secrets
to
herself.
Thirty years later—and five years after her release from
prison—the past
has come back to haunt Kelly. Her father-in-law, movie
legend Sterling
Marshall, is found in a pool of blood in his home in the
Hollywood Hills
—
dead from a shot to the head, just like his old friend John
McFadden.
Once again, Kelly is suspected of the high profile murder.
But this
time,
she’s got some unexpected allies who believe she’s innocent
—of both
killings—and want to help her clear her name. But is she?
Written with masterful precision and control, WHAT REMAINS
OF ME
brilliantly moves forward and back in time, playing out the
murders side
by
side—interweaving subtle connections and peeling away
layers of events
to
reveal the shocking truth.
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