Caz Frear | SWEET LITTLE LIES

Plot (via Goodreads):

WHAT I THOUGHT I KNEW

In 1998, Maryanne Doyle disappeared and Dad knew something about it?
Maryanne Doyle was never seen again.

WHAT I ACTUALLY KNOW

In 1998, Dad lied about knowing Maryanne Doyle.
Alice Lapaine has been found strangled near Dad's pub. 
Dad was in the local area for both Maryanne Doyle's disappearance and Alice Lapaine's murder - FACT
Connection?

Trust cuts both ways . . . what do you do when it's gone? 

Review:

I've said this a hundred times and for the sake of this novel, I will say it again; I have a soft spot for debut authors. Caz Frear is a glimmering example of the reason as to why this statement will always stay true in my heart. Frear has a debut novel that knocked my socks off and left me completely immersed in a harrowing, beautifully written, and twisted police procedural that left me not only in love with her writing, but begging for answers that I wasn't ready to receive. 

This novel is dark, violent, and sensational. From the beginning, I knew I was in for a real treat and a wild ride. Reading this novel is like expecting to go on a kiddie ride at a carnival and finding yourself plummeting on a rollercoaster with your stomach in your throat. You think you're prepared? You aren't. I guarantee it. I wasn't. With pacing that is a little slower than most thrillers I've read, I was pleasantly surprised with how I still found this one riveting and was really taken back with how quickly I found myself invested in this story. Frear doesn't waste time building a mystery or two. Her way of combining a police procedural with a murder and a cold case. What better combination than that? I was a sucker for her writing and I want to make note of something. I love when an author switches timeframes in their chapters. I find it effective and it's a great way to not only build the story, but add in some great characterization. With this one, I was blown away with how addicted I was to each timeframe. Usually with this style of telling a story, you look forward to either the past or the present and right when things get interesting, there's a cliffhanger and you're flying through the next chapter to get back to where you're most interested. With this novel, I was immersed with both storylines and timeframes. Frear didn't use any gimmicks or fillers in this novel. I was bouncing back and forth between the past and present and eager to read each one. 

Now, the characters in this one were a hit or miss for me. The only reason I say that is because the characters that stuck around or were more prominent were not only fantastically written, but full of heart and carried this story brilliantly. The only setback for me was that a lot of names were introduced and then didn't add or bring much to the story. They were mentioned and then kind of fell off after a few one liners or mentions. Don't get me wrong, the characters forefront to the story really were brilliantly written and fantastically adapted to the pages. I just was confused and a little lost at times when others were mentioned because it was hard to keep track between those I should be paying attention to and keeping my eye on and those that I didn't have to really keep in the back of my mind. That being said, the more I thought about it the more realistic this was as when it comes to a police procedural and the realism of a novel like this, there are a lot of people that have different jobs so while it was a minor setback, it definitely didn't keep me from enjoying this novel.

Normally, I find police procedurals to be slower moving and really have to invest time in getting to the meat of the story and it takes a while to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Frear does an exceptional job at giving you small tidbits with dazzling pacing before completely blowing the readers mind with showing you the whole story. And let me tell you, if you think you know what's going on or you believe you have even the slightest idea as to how these cases are connected, you're wrong. You have to dive in, let Frear take complete control, and trust me that this is a story that will stick with you long after the disastrous finale. I cannot wait to read my next Caz Frear novel.

Special thanks to Harper Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5