Sarah Johnson has the perfect life. She’s the mother of two wonderful kids and she has an industrious husband, Mike, who goes above and beyond to bring money home. Her marriage life isn’t the best, but she’s never been the kind of wife who felt as if she couldn’t trust her husband. However, that all changes when she discovers that he has hired a hitman to assassinate her. After getting a call from a man with a heavy accent, Sarah can’t believe this news. She can’t understand why her husband would want to kill her instead of trying to resolve their issues or just simply divorcing her.
To add to this nightmare, the man who informed her of her husband’s intentions has given her the opportunity to save her life, all she has to do is give him more money than her husband is paying him. She has 14 days to come up with the amount or she will lose her life.
First of all, Sarah’s history of being a giant tease in her formative years made me dislike her character even more. I can’t understand why the story stressed heavily on Sarah’s rebellious and slutty teenage years. Was it to emphasize the fact that Sarah was deserving of what was coming her way? Was it to get readers to sympathize with Sarah seeing that she’s now a changed woman? Even after finishing this novel, I’m still trying to figure it out. Another reason I didn’t like Sarah’s character was because she focused way too much on her husband’s affair with the Italian woman. I understand how life shattering it can be to find out that, not only is your husband planning your death, but he has also been cheating on you with a woman he met while living in Italy. Still, I hated the fact that most of the book is filled with her whining and ranting about Mike’s love affair. The story had so much potential to be more than a glorified diary.
Then there’s her infatuation with Bruce, the guy who recently moved in next door. The only thing I didn’t like about their relationship is the fact that Bruce’s character is very clichéd. He is the typical love interest of any romance novel; handsome, wild and overly protective of the protagonist. While reading about her fascination with his fabulous car, places he’s been and sense of style was tiring, I still enjoyed reading about their love scenes. It was erotic without being over the top and slightly realistic.
Excluding Sarah, Mike, her kids and Bruce, I feel as if the other characters in the novel are way too one dimensional. Honestly, I thought the story would’ve focused on the lives of each character directly involved in the action. I thought that I would read about the other characters’ perspective on the events that unfolded instead of only hearing from Sarah. I also thought that, with the way the story is told, it would’ve been more of a comedy rather than a thriller.
Despite all this, I actually loved the ending. It was completely unpredictable and I felt as if all those hours of reading about Sarah’s ranting paid off.
Rating: 5/10
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Length: 226 pages
Publisher: inMotion Capitol (January 13, 2016)
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers
Completed: January 2016
Source: ARC Copy
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