"Anna Winger can know people better than they know themselves with only a glance—at their handwriting. Hired out by companies wanting to land trustworthy employees and by the lovelorn hoping to find happiness, Anna likes to keep the real-life mess of other people at arm’s length and on paper. But when she is called to use her expertise on a note left behind at a murder scene in the small town she and her son have recently moved to, the crime gets under Anna’s skin and rips open her narrow life for all to see. To save her son—and herself—once and for all, Anna will face her every fear, her every mistake, and the past she thought she'd rewritten."
My Thoughts:
Wow! This was such a good read and I'm guessing that there is a good chance that it will end up on my top reads list for this year. Yep, it was really that good! I adore a book where the atmosphere carries me through the story. This book had that in spades. There were times that I just had to stop reading because I couldn't take it any more. That feeling of dread....that bad things were coming just permeated the pages of this book. I couldn't get enough even when I didn't want to keep reading. I took my time with this book though and really savored the reading experience. The author took chances with this one as it has possible triggers for those who don't like reading about certain things. She did it wonderfully though by not glossing over it while also not being too graphic. I don't want to say more than that as it feels kind of spoiler-ish. The mystery of this book was more of a search for this missing little boy. The author took her time with letting us get to know Anna and her son.....and I felt like we were given this information piece by piece. The reader wasn't always supposed to know why Anna behaved the way she did even if we could guess. I just really loved the my entire reading experience with this book!
I also really enjoyed Anna's job as a handwriting analyst. I don't know a lot about this type of thing but I found all of the details so intriguing. The idea that you can learn so much about a person just based off of their handwriting is almost a little terrifying when you think about it. I can see why some of the characters didn't want to write anything down around her. I wouldn't want someone analyzing my handwriting...or would I? I'm not entirely sure. LOL! I found that I hit a point in this book where I knew that I was going to have to see how it would all end. Before that, I took my time with it and slowly made my way through the pages. Afterwards though I was reading as fast as I could just so I could see how it would all end. This was a book that left me thinking about it afterwards, just mulling over everything that happened. I am super excited to have found this author especially after enjoying this book so much!
Overall, this was a delightfully good read and one that I didn't want to see end. I loved the way the author just brought these characters to life- they all felt so real to me. I am thrilled to see that this author has other books for me to enjoy. Especially as this one was so good so I have very high hopes for everything else that she has written. I would recommend this one to mystery/thriller fans but also those who just enjoy a really great read. Highly recommended!
Bottom Line: Most likely this will make my top reads list for the year- read it!!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher as part of a TLC book tour.
Sam, what a wonderful, and yes, enthusiastic, review! It sounds as if you really "got into" the story--I love it when that happens! I had my handwriting analyzed many years ago, and I still remember some of the things "my report" said.
ReplyDeleteHave a terrific weekend--maybe you can read another book by Lori Rader-Day.
Don't you just love it when you discover a new-to-you author that you love and you find out they also have a huge backlist?! What fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour.