4 stars I might have given this book 5 stars, but for the fact that I found Casey maddening. The story is told completely from her first-person POV, but I never fully understood or related to her. I don’t think that’s the fault of the author. I just couldn’t relate to Casey’s actions at all and I never really felt her pain. I read this book years ago when it was called “Then Kiss Me,” which became immediately apparent to me as soon as I started reading and recognized the character names and initial events. The description said that this book was different somehow. It wasn’t different enough to justify reading it again, since I really didn’t like Casey. There were a couple of things I liked about the book. I liked the introduction of Nicki Sosebee, the main character from Ms. Jamison’s other series of mystery books (which I haven’t yet read). I loved some of her metaphors/imagery, like this one: “My flesh crawled. If it could have, it would have jumped off my bones in an attempt to avoid his lips.” There are some potentially triggering themes including domestic abuse and rape. I think these are addressed in a sensitive manner and never cross over to gratuitous. They are vivid enough to paint a clear picture without going overboard. I found it interesting when an attack brings on a memory that Casey had forgotten. She wonders, “How the hell had that escaped my mind?” This was an insightful moment in the story because it reminds the reader that, as human beings trying to survive in a cruel world, we often push down the bad memories to cope, and our minds are so good at protecting us, we actually forget what we’ve repressed. Until the memory is provoked by outside forces. Although I didn’t love the book, I cannot deny it is well-written and realistic, painting a memorable picture of characters and events in a small town. It was worth reading once but it’s not a story I’d be drawn to read repeatedly. August 15, 2020
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