Author: Cambria Brickman
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Ballentine Books
Published: July 16, 2019
Book Description: In her first weeks at Hawthorne College, Malin is swept up into a tight-knit circle that will stick together through all four years. There’s Gemma, an insecure theater major from London; John, a tall, handsome, wealthy New Englander; Max, John’s cousin, a shy pre-med major; Khaled, a wisecracking prince from Abu Dhabi; and Ruby, a beautiful art history major. But Malin isn’t like the rest of her friends. She’s an expert at hiding her troubled past. She acts as if she shares the preoccupations of those around her—dating, partying—all while using her extraordinary insight to detect their deepest vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
By Senior Day, on the cusp of graduation, Malin’s secrets—and those of her friends—are revealed. While she scrambles to maintain her artfully curated image, her missteps set in motion a devastating chain of events that ends in a murder. And as fragile relationships hang in the balance and close alliances shift, Malin must test the limits of what she’s capable of to stop the truth from coming out.
In a mesmerizing novel that peels back the innumerable layers of a seductive protagonist, debut author Cambria Brockman brings to life an entrancing story of friendship, heartbreak, and betrayal.
Rating: 4 Stars
Review: When I received this book from NetGalley, I had no idea what to expect, and boy this was a pleasant surprise. It takes a lot for me to make me oh wow, and this book did that. This is a slow burn of novel, but so worth it.
This story is narrated by Malin who is at college and becomes close friends with 5 other people. This takes them from freshman year to senior year. This story also flashes back to when Malin was at home in Texas and an incident surrounding her brother. There felt a lot like the Secret History but has a much larger thriller element.
This is a story that I can’t say too much, as it will divulge too much and this has a shocking twist that I would never want to spoil for the reader. I gasped at the last 20% and I never do that. If you don’t mind a slower build-up than take a chance, because it well worth the wait.
Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine Books for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Obsessed Bookaholic 