Mystery at a summer camp. What really happened to the girls?
"There's something worse than death...not knowing."
Artist Emma Davis has spent the last 15 years haunted by the disappearance of 3 of her cabin mates while they were at summer camp. Exhaustive searches revealed no hint of what happened to the teenagers. Now at age 28, she's been invited back to Camp Nightingale as an instructor. She decides to accept the offer in hopes that she can undo some of the damage she did back then -- because there were several things she lied about at the time. This time she's determined to find out what happened to Vivian, Natalie and Allison. Once back at the camp ensconced in the same cabin where she'd stayed when she was 13, Emma finds that she is still under a cloud of suspicion -- that's why there is a motion sensor camera trained right on the door to Dogwood. Emma knows that she really didn't have anything to do with whatever happened to those girls...
Told in past/present narrative style through Emma's voice at 13 and at 28, the events are slowly revealed which made me very impatient to get to the denouement and conclusion. Emma is a character that I never identified with and she is constantly scrutinizing all the secondary characters for hints of guilt or involvement. She suffers from hallucinations and paranoia while also acknowledging that she has never told the truth about certain things surrounding the relationship she had with the 3 girls who vanished. The family that owns the camp also comes under suspicion. And then there's the fact that the man made lake on the property actually might be concealing a secret. Lots of teen angst and drama and a mystery that drug on a bit too long. I had a bit of a problem with the ending and definitely issues with Emma.
This is the second book I've read by this author, and this had some similarities to the first in writing style and tone. I'm not a fan of the past-present structure, but I do prefer reading an adult perspective rather than that of teenager voice. The book didn't have that "can't put it down" vibe for me, but I admit that it can be difficult for a story to keep me fully engaged at times.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for this e-book ARC to read and review.
This is a standalone fiction book that is not part of any series.
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