Oh the Beauty of Twists and Turns

So I have another great book for you book lovers out there. It’s called Now You See Me, and no, it’s not based on the recent movie that came out with that name. Scratch that thought and join me on a ride you won’t want to get off of.

Now You See Me is fraught with suspense galore and around-the-bend twists that will have you thinking, “Wait, what the heck just happened?” That’s the thing I love about S.J. Bolton’s writing. She’s an excellent author who uses compelling prose to evoke emotions and intensity from her readers.

She gets us involved in her mysteries and makes us want to unravel the story before we’re supposed to even know what’s going on. I kept wanting to get to the end just so I could figure out where the story would end up. And let me tell you, when all the frustrating questions I had were finally answered, I was enthralled and couldn’t believe that I, the expert at unscrambling the missing pieces of a mystery puzzle, had been taken on a ride that I was unable to solve. Me? Unable to solve the story before its conclusion? That may not mean much to any of you reading this, but it means a lot to me. I’m generally one of those people who can tell you how the book is going to end. And even if I’m off a bit, it’s usually only by a tiny margin. This time, I was completely taken aback when I got to the end and began to understand the whole of the story. It was a moment of clarity that had me applauding Bolton’s ability to twist up a story so brilliantly.

Now let’s get to the actual meat of the story. I’m sure by now you’re wondering what it’s even about. Well, the story follows a young detective named Lacey Flint. She’s one of those main characters that still maintains her secrets even from the audience. Bolton doesn’t allow her to share herself with us. We have to put pieces together to try to connect who she really is.

And it’s for the benefit of the story that Bolton chooses to do this. You’ll see what I mean when you read it. Anyway, the story follows several murders that are taking place in London. The murders are suspiciously close to the old Jack the Ripper murders that had taken place in London years ago. Flint, being a lover of Ripper as a child, has all sorts of knowledge of the Ripper stories and helps the police unravel what’s going on and who the killer will murder next.

But there’s just one little problem. The murderer is very keen on taking Lacey Flint on the ride by leaving notes for her and keeping her involved. It starts to lead those working with her to the realization that maybe Lacey isn’t as good as she seems. Could she be the killer? What connection would this murderer have with her? Why is she being targeted?

Lacey Flint knows a lot more than she’s willing to put out there. She lays low and quietly helps those on the force try to catch this brutal killer who is killing only women and cutting out there body parts. As she begins to understand the murders and how they’re taking place, she realizes there’s something even deeper about them that not just anyone would notice. Only those with a past like hers could understand what these murders mean.

And when I finally put the pieces together (okay, technically I never did) it all came back to me- all those moments when I thought Bolton just ruined her book by being so confusing. I realized that she was leaving bread crumbs for her audience to pick up and connect. They were very meager bread crumbs, but they were bread crumbs, nonetheless. I’m sure you mystery/suspense enthusiasts would have a fun time putting this puzzle together.

Anyway, enough of my babbling. Go read the book and be delighted by the sheer beauty of a good twist that you won’t see coming. Or maybe you will, but you’ll still be satisfied by the endings glorious “aha” moment. It was truly a great read and has inspired me to get back into reading thrillers of this caliber. In fact, I think I’m going to the library to get some more Bolton books. I’ll be sure to let you all know how those are 😉

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