This was very engaging and a quick read, with the atmosphere and pieces of supernatural woven into the story to create a setting that felt developed. There was a pretty big twist in the story that I found to be obvious from about 1/3 of the way through, so I spent a lot of time waiting for the reveal to happen for the characters. However, the main mystery did leave me guessing until the end, and I didn’t suspect the truth behind it. I enjoyed reading from Charlotte’s perspective and thought she was a unique narrator. Despite this, there was a lot that was set up with the other characters who were said to be a certain way, but that didnt really align with how they acted. There were also some elements added in to the story that initially seemed to mean something but went nowhere and had no effect on the plot, aside from either being red herrings or building atmosphere. There was a lot going on in here, with the combination of real life murder mysteries, the mc’s past coming to light, paranormal aspects and the oft-mentioned haunting, her relationship with two different men that she likes, and problems from her job lingering still. At times, it felt like a lot to balance and even in the end, some things were left purposely unclear, which left me questioning other aspects of the story. Still, I was engrossed throughout the novel and found it entertaining. Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was fun to read and pretty entertaining, especially as the tension grew between the mc and her rival, and I appreciated how they were both very flawed characters, especially the rival. Their interactions and dynamic was refreshing to read in how although they definitely had phsycial attraction to each other, they didn’t just ignore months of rivalry and their differences and jump into a relationship. I was glad this was not a romance book, and that the plot and twists of the heist were engaging.

However, I didn’t feel like the characters had a lot of substance beneath what was written on the page about them and their personalities — in particular I found that the mc’s friends, who had a pretty prominent role in the story, didn’t have much depth. I also didn’t think that the themes surrounding privilege and class explored here ended up saying anything beyond the surface level.

Overall, it was a quick read and something a bit different than what I’m used to, and I liked how it handled the “rivals who are attracted to each other” trope in a unique way.

Thank you to Random House & NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

full rtc but I loved this & now need to finally read the authors other book that’s been sitting on my shelf for two years