🚗🛣️👀 "Don't Turn Around" 👀🛣️🚗 (2020) - Book Review
MY REVIEW
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Harper (June 16, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062874861
ISBN-13: 978-0062874863
Click Picture for Purchase Information
“322 miles of road. 6 hours. 2 strangers.
1 killer. Too many secrets.
Midnight.
Cait Monaghan and Rebecca McRae are on a desolate road that slices through the
New Mexican desert. They've never met before tonight. Both have secrets
to protect. Both of their lives are in danger.
When a
truck pulls up fast behind them, they assume it's punk teenagers or
run-of-the-mill road rage, but it soon becomes clear that whoever is driving
the truck is hunting them for sport―and they are out to draw blood.
As the
miles unspool and the dangers mount, the pasts they've worked so hard to keep
buried have come back to haunt them. Someone wants one of them dead. But
which one? And given the lives the two women have been leading, that
someone could be almost anyone.
If Cait
and Rebecca are going to survive, they'll have to learn to trust one
another―and themselves. But trust is a costly business, and they’ve both paid
the price before …”
Thank you in advance to the publisher, Harper/Harper
Collins, for this advanced review copy. A positive review was not required and
all words are my own.
The author of this novel uses a pseudonym so I
don’t know if I’ve read other works by her. I have not read her first book
(under this name) – “Freefall”.
I enjoy good suspense novels, preferably clean,
but occasionally I’ll select something that isn’t so “clean” based on the
premise. The premise of this stood out to me, particularly as I know most of
that stretch between Texas and Arizona. And, to be honest, driving it at night
is a horror story all its own. Naturally, I was interested.
While this is similar to the author’s first
novel “Freefall”, “Don’t Turn Around” is a standalone
novel. Both have heavy “social” themes to them.
“Don’t
Turn Around” focuses on abortion, domestic violence, safety of social media,
internet shaming, and doxxing (someone’s information given out for revenge). It
also has political tones to it that are obvious. There are strong feminist
themes in this story, which is told from multiple points of view (POVs). The
language can be coarse and rough at times.
Cait is more or less a “driver” to take Rebecca
somewhere that Rebecca’s influential husband can’t know about or wouldn’t
approve. It is with great urgency that Rebecca get where she needs to be. And,
it’s fairly apparent early on as to what the appointment is for. The why is clearly
established in a way to make Rebecca a more sympathetic character and to add
some humanity to the situation.
Yet, on their journey there is someone stalking
them on that lonely, desert highway. But, who is the person after – Cait or
Rebecca? Both know someone with a motive to see them fail. The who is not
established, until the end, which made this a “have to keep turning the page”
type of read. The “why” is a bit murky though. There are references to an
anonymous article that Cait wrote after a violent sexual encounter with a
celebrity and this is where the internet and victim shaming comes into play. The
“Me Too” theme is quite prevalent in this book as well. The mystery is still
left at the end as to the “why”.
The short, quick chapters are not numbered but
rather “named” as to the POV Ken, Jake, Patrick, Adam are by their name and the
“timeline” can be easy to figure out, but not obvious. “Years earlier” is told
from Cait or Rebecca’s POV, or the location/distance to Albuquerque which is
either told from Cait’s POV or Rebecca’s – all written in third person.
Despite their differences, Rebecca and Cait
seemingly bond on the trip; especially when their survival depends on it. And,
in a way, they are also connected as the reader finds out.
The writer does a great job at creating
suspense – especially with the pickup truck chasing them down.
The blurb showed great potential for this story.
But, it is the “statement” that tends to bog down what could’ve been a great book.
It becomes more of a political, social driven story than a truly great suspense
tale. To me, the social issue seemed to be the main focus of the story.
The male characters are characterized as “bad
guys” with the women categorized innocent victims. Yes, there is no doubt Cait
was a victim. So too was Rebecca.
But, it was the lop-sided “women are good/men are
bad” POV that caused some eye-rolling on my end. Perhaps that is how I saw it,
and as a reader reviewing the book, that is what I saw. There were two remotely
“semi” good male character towards the end, and both were minor. Both were
supportive and doing their jobs. Nothing outstanding. Even a gas station
attendant and a semi-truck driver were not “good” characters, with one being
described as creepy. The semi-truck driver wasn’t too bad, but not “good”
either.
While I admit, some guys can be jerks (I used
to work with quite a few); there are some really great guys out there (and I’ve
worked with quite a few of those too). With the way the author created the
suspense, dialogue, and friendship with Cait and Rebecca – it shows she does talent
as a story-teller. I don’t know if it was the author’s intention for this to
come off as one-sided or not. Looking back, the “tagline” – “it’s never been so
dangerous to be a woman” should’ve been a clue.
The character I felt sorry for was Rebecca,
especially how she had seemingly lost herself in everything going on around her
and how people’s impressions of her were wrong. What was worse was that there
was no one to guide her, only a “manager” who was looking for an “image” to
sell (mainly her husband’s), rather than focusing on her good traits while
tempering bad ones. Only at the end did Rebecca find her strength, and it had
to come in a truly horrific manner.
While I’m not one to stick my head in the sand
over things – there are always multiple sides to an issue. And, yes, a writer
should be able to express their view in their writing. For that, I do respect
the author. However, this just didn’t work for me. I read for the escape, for
the entertainment – not politics or social issues. This should be disclosed as
part of the summary of this book.
SPOILER: one of the reasons Rebecca is so
adamant about getting where she needs to be is pending legal action. That’s as
much detail as I can give out without revealing the entire plot.
I believe it could’ve worked without the social
issues in it – just the “dark, desert scene” when they’re being hunted down was
enough to build on. The unlikely alliance formed between Cait and Rebecca was
another place to go. And, having perhaps more balanced good vs. bad in it with
regard to the characters.
Another thing that bogged this down was “too
many” POVs – Cait, Rebecca, Patrick, Ken, Mike, Jake, Adam. I was beginning to
wonder how everyone tied into this story, as well as their role in it. Too many
people with too many agendas is the conclusion for that.
The unresolved end with the “stalking” truck driver
was satisfying with regard to the suspense element. I would be slightly
interested to see if that issue ever comes back into play in another novel. The
resourcefulness of both Cait and Rebecca shined right in that moment. So,
again, this had potential, it was the delivery and execution that seemed to
have done it in for me.
For those looking for a thriller/suspense story
with political themes, social issues, and multiple characters; this might work
for you. It honestly wasn’t the worst thing I read, definitely not the best,
and again not something I would’ve chosen had I truly known some of the content.
I will admit, the character I really rallied
behind was the Jeep. That thing kept rolling along despite everything thrown at
it!
RATING:
2 ⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads (Okay)
2 ⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub (Disappointing)
2 ⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating
explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)
(for this particular review – okay, but disappointing)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jessica Barry, is a pseudonym for an American author who grew up in a small town in
Massachusetts and was raised on a steady diet of library books and PBS. She
attended Boston University, where she majored in English and art history,
before moving to London to pursue an MA from University College London. She
lives with her husband, Simon, and their two cats, Roger Livesey and BoJack
Horseman, in Portland, Maine.
Comments
Post a Comment