About the Book
-
Author:
- Rebecca Barrow
- Voices:
- Cis Girl
- Lesbian
- Multiracial
Cover Story: Seriously, Don’t Look Back
BFF Charm: Big Sister
Talky Talk: Tense
Bonus Factor: Family Secrets
Relationship Status: Thrilling
Cover Story: Seriously, Don’t Look Back
One glance at this cover and you know she’s totally going to look back! Just like a juicy horror movie, this artwork sets the scene for Nothing Good Happening—you know, the kind where you’re yelling at the person on screen to NOT go into the basement, to NOT decide to investigate the creepy woods by themselves, to NOT just assume that weird noise was totally nothing. And while this isn’t a horror novel, it is a very twisty thriller, so the vibes are definitely on point.
The Deal
Harlow Ford has had many names, and she’s never lived in one place for too long. That’s because her mother, Cora, has spent their whole lives running from something: who or what, Harlow gave up asking about years ago, since it became apparent that it was either a deeply buried secret or a deeply embedded paranoia. But one night, on the move to another new place to begin another fake identity, their car is hit in an accident, and Cora dies after giving her daughter one clue: the location of a key to a safety box.
Terrified that someone is still pursuing her, Harlow obtains the key and within minutes of opening the box, discovers more about her mother than she’s learned in seventeen years. She finds photos of Cora with two sisters, Christina and Clementine; a newspaper clipping about the girls’ mother, Eve Kennedy, disappearing without a trace, and the deed to the family home, Severn House, in a town called Crescent Ridge. So, in spite of her mom’s warnings to always keep moving and never look back, Harlow decides to do the opposite (of course she does!) and head directly into the heart of the darkness that has overshadowed her entire life. Let’s just say, no one—not Harlow, and certainly not you, dear reader—is prepared for what she finds.
BFF Charm: Big Sister
Given the lack of anything remotely stable in her life, my heart immediately went out to Harlow. It’s hard to imagine never staying in one place long enough to have real friends or to even call a place home, and even her relationship with her mother, the one constant, is surprisingly distant due to Harlow being completely in the dark about why they are always on the run. Having to constantly assume a new identifies to blend in, Harlow has become an expert at reading people, but she never actually gets to be herself, so does she even know who that is? I can tell you that she’s brave (maybe too brave!); incredibly self-sufficient and resourceful; and really lonely. While she’s more than capable of taking care of herself, I wanted to just take her to coffee and give her a safe space to simply be, without the weight of her mother’s past or the fear of what’s around the corner.
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
In Crescent Ridge, Harlow meets a girl named Sloane, and there’s definitely a frisson (as Meg Cabot would say). Sloane is a pretty, blonde open book—a good foil for Harlow’s closed-off demeanor—and the two of them share some moments, but it’s an understatement to say that Harlow has a lot on her mind, and there’s not much room for romance.
Talky Talk: Tense
Rebecca Barrow does a great job of balancing story and character development with electric pacing. While her descriptions, particularly of Severn House, cast a haunting tone, she never allows the plot to get bogged down, and the result is a novel that begs to be read deep into the night. There are some legit scary moments, y’all, and I’m pretty sure I gasped out loud at least four times because THE TWISTS! You may see some coming, but if you tell me you saw them all, I will tell you that you’re a liar liar pants on fire.
Bonus Factor: Family Secrets
I wish I could elaborate (i.e. we will have MUCH to discuss at our book club meeting this month) but, yeah… there is some juicy shit going on here!
Relationship Status: Thrilling
Book, our time together was more meaningful than just a wham, bam, thank you ma’am situation, but damn if I wasn’t whammed and bammed! I sincerely admire the juxtaposition of authentic characters and totally bananas plotlines (it’s a tricky thing to get right), and between the emotional layers of grief and the intense roller coaster of reveals, my heart certainly got a workout!
Literary Matchmaking
Looking for another twisty thriller with fake identities? Pick up E. Lockhart’s Genuine Fraud.
Well, while you’re at it, you might as well read another excellent thriller with fake identities: The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe.
Keep your spooky streak going with a hunt for a serial killer in Erica Waters’ The Restless Dark.
FTC Full Disclosure: I borrowed my review copy from my local library; I received neither compensation nor cocktails for writing this review (dammit!). And Don’t Look Back is available now.
