Rating: 3 out of 5.

3.5 stars

This was a good, quick Mystery/Thriller read. Alice and Leo move into a house in a gated community called The Circle. They think they’ve moved into the home of their dreams, but Alice quickly realizes that’s not the case. Two years before, therapist Nina was killed in the house, allegedly by her husband. Alice starts digging into the murder, convinced the husband didn’t kill his wife.

The more Alice gets to know her neighbors, the more she suspects they have dark secrets of their own, and that they know more about the murder than they are saying. Alice’s obsession with the murder puts a strain on her relationship with Leo, and as Alice keeps digging she puts her relationship and life on the line.

This was a quick and easy read. I enjoyed the book, but it’s not a very deep or twisty mystery. Alice’s character was pretty flat. The death of Alice’s sister is eluded to several times in the book, but why Alice feels so deeply about it is never explained until the end of the book. The explanation is unsatisfying, as is the fact that it’s dumped on the reader and then quickly dismissed and never explored. This was an unnecessary plot point that added nothing to the story, especially the way it was handled. It was enough that anyone would be weirded out by living in a house where someone was murdered, nothing else was needed. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book and like the author’s writing style.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All opinions are my own.