Tense and complicated, this thriller is non stop action and difficult to jump into if you have not read the previous two books in the series, which I had not.
A terminally ill man, Andrew Fechmeier, hides something inside a suit left at the funeral home from where he intends to be buried. This object ties back to a group of friends who called themselves “The Breakfast Club.” The story involves a decades old secrets involving those teens and the truth about the mother of Nola. The other main character, Zig, is a mortician brought into the story by Nola’s twin brother, Roddy. Lots of crime and corruption.
I’m sure the characters and their history are meant to carry the weight of a relationship driven story but not knowing the backstory meant that I never really felt empathic or connected to them. There were a lot of characters and way too much back and forth in time and point of view which further made the whole premise harder to follow.
There was an internal world and relationship between Zig and Nola was unconventional and difficult to understand. So, no, I didn’t care for any character in this story though it was interesting and fast paced though it really got bogged down in the middle. The other issue was the really high body count and long, detailed descriptions of vicious fighting scenes which I sincerely dislike. All of that seemed relentless and made each victim seem almost inconsequential. Also, the self serving rationalization of past trauma justifying the murders didn’t sit that well with me either. I doubt I’ll read any more of this series.
Don’t make the mistake of reading this without having the background and you will probably enjoy it more. I would say that the overlying tone of this book was just too grim for me.
I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Scott Brick, made the book seem less dense and the characters more human. He has the best dramatic flair and his intensity always helps give the story a boost that makes me enjoy it more. His ability to transition between characters and make them distinct personalities is always a treat especially when a book’s plot is really complex. His performance definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the story.
This is the third book in a series. The books should be read in order from the beginning. This does not work for me as a standalone.
Genre and tags: conspiracy, teenagers, murder, corruption, abuse, death, twins
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