This suspense thriller is the first person singular account of Claire Cook’s planned escape into anonymity and the similar escape plans of Eva James. Claire is the abused wife of a prominent philanthropic New York City would-be U.S. senator, and Eva is a frightened single Berkeley, California drug dealer. The writer makes extensive use of critical time shifts, a staple of thriller novels, and readers need to keep track of the dates at the start of each of the 36 named but unnumbered chapters in order to follow the convoluted ingenious plot before and after the two women exchange identities and destinations at JFK airport to escape their past troubles.
The women in this novel have all been manipulated by cruel abusive misogynistic men, whereas the men are, with one exception, amoral ogres. The writing flows smoothly and the distress of the women is easy to relate to. In spite of many very different characters, there are no loose ends.
I am sure that many readers, at times of acute disappointment and stress, perhaps when trapped in abusive marriages or unfulfilling dangerous jobs, have fantasized about escaping into anonymity and starting over with a new identity in a new environment and can thus relate to this tale, but few will have developed the detailed plans related here. There are too many unlikely chance encounters and exaggerated characterizations for my liking, but then I have never been a big fan of this genre. Nevertheless, when I read a review of this story on the Goodreads website, I decided to borrow the ebook from the library, and in spite of my reservations, found it to be a quite enjoyable read. I have not read the California author’s only previous novel, The Ones We Chose, and am not inclined to do so. Small doses of this genre are enough entertainment to last a long time.
The Passionate Reader 