Thank you Atmosphere Press for the review copy.
Trigger Warning: Violence, Murder, Rape
Robert has just lost his job. Desperate for work, he accepts an offer from a friend. The task seems simple: transport a suitcase from Point A to Point B in exchange for a generous payment.
Meanwhile, Tyne wakes up in the middle of the night for a glass of water, only to discover her husband being murdered.
The premise immediately caught my attention. Unfortunately, the further I read, the more difficult it became to stay immersed in the story.
There were numerous spelling and typographical errors throughout the book, which constantly disrupted the reading experience. I often found myself stopping to reread sentences to determine whether I had misunderstood them or whether they were genuinely incorrect.
The prose was the biggest hurdle for me. Many scenes were described in exhaustive detail, often listing every action a character did one after another. Rather than helping me visualize the scene, it left very little room for my imagination. I also noticed frequent repetition of the same words and phrases within a single paragraph, making the writing feel mechanical and, at times, tedious read.
Another issue was the inconsistent way characters were referred to. A character might be identified by their first name in one sentence, their surname in the next, and then by their full name shortly after. While this may seem like a minor detail, I found it distracting enough to repeatedly pull me out of the story.
I genuinely wanted to enjoy this novel. There were even moments when I read passages aloud to my partner, hoping the story would come alive that way. Instead, hearing the prose spoken only emphasized the awkwardness of the writing, making the experience feel more like work than enjoyment.
It’s unfortunate because I believe the novel has an intriguing premise. Sadly, the writing and editing issues overshadowed what could have been an engaging thriller.
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