#ATBR2020 Review: Something She's Not Telling Us by Darcey Bell @jessmapreviews
Something She's Not Telling Us
by Darcey Bell
Thank you Harper and NetGalley for these copies.
Publisher: Harper
Publish Date: April 7, 2020
Kindle Edition
320 Pages
Standalone
Genre: Thriller
She’s on the verge of having it all…
But one woman stands in her way.
Charlotte has everything in life that she ever could have hoped for: a doting, artistic husband, a small-but-thriving flower shop, and her sweet, smart five-year-old daughter, Daisy. Her relationship with her mother might be strained, but the distance between them helps. And her younger brother Rocco may have horrible taste in women, but when he introduces his new girlfriend to Charlotte and her family, they are cautiously optimistic that she could be The One. Daisy seems to love Ruth, and she can’t be any worse than the klepto Rocco brought home the last time. At least, that’s what Charlotte keeps telling herself. But as Rocco and Ruth’s relationship becomes more serious, Ruth’s apparent obsession with Daisy grows more obvious. Then Daisy is kidnapped, and Charlotte is convinced there’s only one person who could have taken her.
Ruth has never had much, but now she’s finally on the verge of having everything she’s ever dreamed of. A stable job at a start-up company, a rakish, handsome boyfriend with whom she falls more in love with every day—and a chance at the happy family she’s always wanted, adorable niece included. The only obstacle standing in her way is her boyfriend’s sister Charlotte, whose attitude swerves between politely cold and outright hostile. Rebuffing Ruth’s every attempt to build a friendship with her and Daisy, Charlotte watches over her daughter with a desperate protectiveness that sends chills down Ruth’s spine. Ruth knows that Charlotte has a deeply-buried secret, the only question is: what? A surprise outing with Daisy could be the key to finding out, and Ruth knows she must take the chance while she has it—for everyone’s sake.
As the two women follow each other down a chilling rabbit hole, unearthing winding paths of deceit, lies, and trauma, a family and a future will be completely—and irrevocably—shattered.
My Review:
I never read A Simple Favor but I did watch the movie and I found it absolutely ridiculous and SO MUCH FUN. I expected mostly the same for this read and I definitely found ridiculousness.
The only likable character here is Daisy - but don't get me wrong - I always love hating on characters. I just would like for at least one character to have some substance and everything just felt a bit of a parody. Most of the time I am happy to suspend all reality for the sake of the story. Unfortunately this one with the back and forth in time lines and the whiplash of crazy just felt disjointed and out of sorts. There's also that typical story line we see a lot in thrillers that I didn't care for in this one. That along with the abrupt ending just didn't do it for me.
Now, on the plus side, this is one hell of a ride. There's so much that happens you'll be constantly lifting your chin up to close your mouth. It's a quick, binge read and certainly entertaining if you need something to fly through. I think, for me, this would've resonated better on film.
★★
Jessica's Review:
This was my introduction to Darcey Bell and I had heard great things about her books. SOMETHING SHE’S NOT TELLING US was one that I had seen some mixed reviews on, but that definitely piques my interest a little more when that happens. While this one didn’t really work for me, I know it did for a lot of others.
To keep it short, I think this was a little too far-fetched for me at some parts. Definitely some unlikeable and awful characters and plenty of drama. Which don’t get me wrong, I loved the drama but there were just some parts that didn’t work for me. Overall, I really liked the writing and would definitely pick up more from Bell in the future!
2.5 stars
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