We pretty much know what happened to Nina Fraser from the first chapter. That’s not the purpose of this book, which is a fairly big departure from McTiernan’s previous ones. For one thing, it’s set in Vermont instead of Ireland. And it is darker.
Nina has been dating Simon since she was 16, but now that they’re going to different colleges, things aren’t going as well. When Simon comes home from Northwestern, he doesn’t understand that Nina needs to study and help out in her parents’ B&B. And he’s been getting rough with her.
Simon talks Nina into spending a few days at his parents’ vacation property. They are both athletic, and they can hike and climb even though it’s winter. But Nina takes a fall when they are climbing, and she believes Simon let go of his end of the rope when she was rappelling. So, when they get back to the house, she breaks up with him.
Leanne, Nina’s mother, begins to worry when Nina doesn’t return on schedule and she can’t contact her by phone or text. Andy, Leanne’s husband, thinks Nina may just have decided to stay longer, but then they learn that Simon returned a few days before. He has told his parents Nina was sleeping around, so they broke up and he left her at the house Saturday morning. But that doesn’t make sense to Leanne and Andy. So, they go to the police, and Matthew Wright gets the case.
Simon’s parents realize that Simon is going to be suspected if Nina doesn’t turn up. So, after Nina’s parents make a plea for help on TV, Simon’s father Rory gets his PR campaign to “muddy the waters” by doing a smear campaign against the Frasers, implying that Leanne doesn’t love her daughters and that Andy, Nina’s stepfather, is a pedophile.
And that’s just the beginning. A lot of the novel is about misuse of power by Simon’s wealthy parents, who will do anything to protect Simon. It’s also about how much worse such a situation can be with social media involved. The novel is billed as a thriller, which it is not, but it certainly makes compelling reading.
What? Me Read? 