OFF THE DEEP END by Lucinda Berry is told from the point of view of two women. Jules Hart had the perfect husband and son until she went off the road into an icy lake one night and accidentally saved her neighbor’s son’s life instead of her own. Amber Greer’s son’s life may have been spared that night, but he was not the same boy who went into the lake.
The first part of this book was very interesting, and as I find with many thrillers, it had a ‘case study’ feel to it. That is normally something I enjoy, but halfway through this book, Jules’ character took a turn that was not authentic to the story. There is a difference between a character keeping a secret from the reader, and the author keeping a secret from the reader. If the author is doing it, it has to be done very well to be authentic, and it wasn’t done well here. In my experience, it rarely is when you’re getting a first-person point of view.
On top of that, we have an incident near the end of the story that felt like it was thrown in, but I’m not sure what the intent was. It was an event that deserved more exploration than it got, and the fact that it was nearly glossed over is a head scratcher.
The pacing of this book was okay, and I found Isaac’s parents to be interesting, but everything else felt like a train wreck. I was excited to read Lucinda Berry, as so many of the people I follow enjoy her books. I may try another of hers, but OFF THE DEEP END just didn’t work for me.
Narrators: If there was a highlight to this book, it was the narrators Amy Landon and Andi Arndt. I’ve listened to them both before and enjoyed them, and I knew they’d do a good job here. There is a bit of an adjustment period to Amy’s male voices, but after you get used to her pitch, it’s very enjoyable. I will be on the lookout for their narration in the future.
Advanced listening copy provided by Brilliance Publishing.
From the bestselling author of The Best of Friends comes a heart-stopping psychological thriller about the shades of truth and the power of lies in the wake of one mother’s unspeakable loss.
Therapist turned stay-at-home mom Jules Hart’s idyllic suburban life shatters when she crashes her car into an icy lake. Her son and another teenage boy plunge into the water with her, but Jules can only manage to save one—the wrong one.
Reeling from the death of her son, Jules spirals into a violent and unstable mental state. Ten months after the accident, she’s still trying to reckon with the fact that she rescued Isaac Greer, another woman’s child, when Isaac suddenly vanishes.
Jules finds herself at the center of a massive police investigation. While she harbors her own dangerous secrets, Jules is adamant that she didn’t take Isaac. But then who did? Is Isaac the victim of a dangerous killer who’s been targeting boys in the Midwest? Or is someone else pulling the strings in this deadly game?
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