3 Stars
Five women go out on a three-day team building exercise and only four come back.
Work mandated Rah-Rah-RAH activities, I'm not a huge fan. I think there are better ways of motivating, less structured and more organic ways, but it's a management choice. So, this starts with the misfit group of employees, some with existing relationships that have already seen friction and others are peripheral. Quickly, the tensions begin to build; a few haven't figured out they're on this three day tour and rather than play things low-key they're immediately pushing buttons and invading boundaries. Yeah, not going to end well.
The characters are interesting, not groundbreaking. If you've worked in a corporate environment, then you've undoubtedly met them. I'm not going to break them down into archetypes because it's not relevant, what is key is whether or not the elements are used effectively. The characters have a solid mix and the additional interpersonal tie-ins provide a lot of tangle to the mystery of whodunit. The timeline and arc are good, and the pacing is perfect. But, I'm going to say that the tandem timeline didn't work for me; it rarely does. I don't like the dual reveal and switching back and forth between storylines from the women's story to the searchers later. The jumping back and forth might provide heightened suspense as the reader gets dumped right at a critical moment to bootstrap the exposition of the alternate timeline. It just feels manufactured and very heavy-handed to me. I know this is a personal preference, but this does play a role in my rating and easily deducts one star.
Now, Aaron Falk. I didn't read the first book because this one was available first at my library. There is some backstory alluded to, but no major spoilers. I'll definitely read it. I'm assuming there's character development because there is significant discussion of Aaron's relationship with his father. In fact, parent/child relationships are a significant factor in this story as they are echoed through various segments and multiple characters. I liked Falk and can see enjoying other stories.
So, I liked the story. The end seemed a little weak to me, but it might just have been the fatigue of timeline switching wore on me and by that point I was only looking for resolution.
Favorite thought:
"When had teenage girls become so sexualized? Had they been like that at his age? Probably, he thought, except back then he had been all in favor of it. At that age, a lot of things seemed like harmless fun."
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