Eh.

I wasn’t that into this book. I wanted to come up for air from all the YA and children’s lit I’ve been reading lately, and I decided I wanted a thrilling mystery to read for a change. This one sounded perfect, what with its plot of an Essex County, NJ prosecutor (holla!) whose sister was murdered by a serial killer 20 years ago and his action-packed trial of some frat boys who raped a stripper. What really happened in those woods? Where was his sister’s body? What lengths would the wealthy parents of the accused go to to save their sons?

Sounds intriguing, right? It felt more like one of those Lifetime movies-of-the-week with Tori Spelling or Kelly Martin than like Silence of the Lambs or The Usual Suspects or even Primal Fear. Okay, maybe it wasn’t as bad as a Lifetime movie, but it was definitely on par with an Ashley Judd thriller. You kind of want to turn it off, you know it’s not that great, you should be doing something else with your time. But suddenly you have to know how the serial killer/KGB/rape trial plotlines will all fit together. And I’m not making that up. The murdered sister? Just so happens their dad was KGB. Really. Not making that up. Next time I’ll stick to Thomas Harris or John Sandford or somebody.