Friday, October 12, 2018

Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

I don’t know why this is a classy thriller (or what a classy thriller even is) but this was good!

Black Eyed Susan follows Tessa, the only survivor of a serial killer. Dubbed ‘black eyed susan’ because she was found in a field of those flowers, Tessa does her best to give her and her daughter a normal life. But, she suspects that the man she helped put in prison is actually innocent, and as she helps his defence team, things happen. Things that suggest that maybe, just maybe, the killer is still out there.

The book follows Tessa in the present day and Tessa in 1995, just before the trial. Since it’s the same person, it was pretty easy to follow the narrative.

So Tessa is actually working through a lot of trauma, both then and now, and she’s trying to recover her lost memories. I thought having the chapters alternate between her past and present self was a good way to show how similar but different she has become.

While most of the book got me riveted, I’ve got to admit that the first chapter was confusing. I actually thought that present day Tessa was still very young, despite what it said on the blurb because she referred to herself as a ‘waif’ and that’s normally used for young women.

And while I like most of the story, I wasn’t really a fan of Tessa’s romance. It didn’t feel very necessary but I am not really a fan of most romance subplots so there’s that.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. The black eyed Susans were present throughout the story and made it slightly creepy. And while the ending wasn’t as explosive as I thought, it was still satisfying.

3 comments :

  1. I don't know what a classy thriller is either. Haha. I do know I enjoyed this one though and am glad you did too!

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  2. Sometimes, when this book comes up 8n my search, I'm tempted to give it a try. But, oh! How I hate memory loss plot (or anything) because they conviniently remember everything at the end (I dontd know if this book is like that). And why dod they have to ruin evrything with insipid romance?

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