Published: April 21, 2022
Emerald O’Brien
Pages: 203
Genre: Psychological Thriller
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Emerald O’Brien is a Canadian author, born and raised just east of Toronto, Ontario. She graduated from her Television Broadcasting and Communications Media program at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2014, Emerald decided to pursue her life-long passion for writing unpredictable stories packed with suspense. When she is not reading or writing, Emerald can be found with family and friends. Watching movies with her two beagles is one of her favourite ways to spend an evening at home.
On a cold fall night in a small Canadian town, four of Chelsea’s friends are found dead, victims of a brutal stabbing—a selfish act of revenge.
The only witness, Chelsea spends the next five years struggling to bury her trauma. The victims’ families call her a hero. Her fiancé calls her the love of his life. Her best friend tells her there’s nothing more she could have done for her friends. She’s almost convinced herself that it’s true when she attends an anniversary memorial held at the scene of the crime.
But Chelsea’s ability to ignore the past comes to an end that very night when she receives an intimidating message.
Tell the police the truth about what you all did that night or I will.
You have 48 hours to confess.
Is it an empty threat from someone digging for facts they don’t actually possess? Or does someone else know Chelsea shared a secret with her friends? Either way, Chelsea knows the stakes are too high to ignore when the blackmailer resorts to violence—those closest to her might be the next victims if she doesn’t do as they ask.
The truth can ruin her life. But the lies have her just as trapped, a pawn in a deadly game even she doesn’t fully understand. She has no choice but to confess.
But Chelsea’s about to discover that some things are best taken to the grave.
“Time is a friend to the innocent and an enemy to the guilty.”
Chelsea is a survivor. Chelsea also has secrets she can never share. Until she gets her first note. Then, suddenly she is caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, with the only way out being someone else’s blood on her hands.
Whew! This was an insanely twisted ride. The way the lives fell into place, with each twist sending you spiraling down another dark path, and the light only coming on at the end, wow.
The characters were so well developed, and I loved how the story was told using alternating timelines—the past mixed with the present to deliver a deadly game of clue.
Chelsea though she had found a group of people who understood true pain, and loss, like she did. And through their similarities, a bond was created. But that bond was not as solid as they all thought.
The ending of this book will leave you panting in a state of anxious shock, mixed with so many emotions that you won’t know what to do.
Emerald delivered another fast paced thriller that is impossible to put down. The timeline is short, and there are no safe spots to rest. You are not prepared for the truth… buckle up and hold on, because this is a deviously twisted ride.!