Rating: 4 out of 5.

3.5 stars rounded up

Claire’s older sister Natalie was killed just after her 18th birthday and a man was arrested and sentenced to prison. Claire tries to deal with it by moving to another city and becoming an investigative journalist. She’s not close with her mom, but when her dad tells Claire that her mother injured herself and needs her help, she reluctantly returns home. But, Claire’s mom doesn’t want her there and Claire finds herself drawn to the old vineyard where Natalie worked the summer she died. She stumbles upon a job at the vineyard working with a handsome foreman. She finds an old diary written by one of the vineyard owners hidden in the cabin she’s staying in. Initially it seems like a young rebellion and love, but the more Claire reads, the more sinister the writing becomes. Claire starts to wonder if her sister’s murder is tied somehow to the old events at the vineyard, and whether the right killer is in prison.

The story is dark and creepy and you never know quite where it’s going. You know something’s off, but just not how or why. The story swings back and forth between the current time and the time when the vineyard owner was a teenager. It’s well done and helps build tension in the book. Claire’s spider senses start to tingle as she asks subtle questions about the history of the vineyard and the people there, but things don’t seem to add up. She starts snooping around and trying to figure out what’s up at the vineyard, but hits a lot of brick walls. Everything seems ok on the surface, but Claire just isn’t buying it. I was able to figure out some of the twists in the story, but not all of them, so it was fun to see how the story played out.

I listened to the audio of the book and the narrator did a great job building suspense and tension as the story progresses. I received a complimentary audiobook copy from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio. All opinions are my own.