Raymond Fleischmann

*Received via NetGalley for review*

Elizabeth's twin sister disappeared when they were 11, and Elizabeth has moved on as best she can, with a husband, a daughter, and a career. But now, living in remote Alaska with her husband always gone and forced to homeschool her daughter, Elizabeth meets a German pilot who insists he knows things about her sister. But he only tells her this after he brutally murders her only friend in the remote town, and sends her down a twisted path for the truth.

An incredibly interesting premise that's a little let down by the execution. Alfred clearly has some kind of hold on Elizabeth that's destructive, but amplified by her unhappiness with her life. She makes bad decision after bad decision, and it's so frustrating because I wasn't really able to understand. Yes, I felt her frustration, but not her compulsion. I mean, she goes back to Alfred after he tries to kill her! She takes her daughter to him!!

And while the ultimate conclusion is satisfying (if predictable), there are still some frustrating unanswered questions that are introduced at the very end. Like What did Alfred tell Margaret to get her to help him escape? What did he do to her in the cabin that resulted in his slashed hand? These are simple questions that would have taken maybe a paragraph or two to answer, but instead we're left in the dark.… (meer)

Twenty years ago, when she was 11, Elisabeth's twin sister, Jacqueline, disappeared. The mystery was never solved. Now, on the eve of World War II, she is married with a daughter and living in a small town in Alaska where her husband is a schoolteacher. A stranger flies into town, unaccountably murders one of the townspeople, and while in custody tells Elisabeth that not only is her sister still alive, but he knows where she is. This starts a cat-and-mouse game between the two, as Elisabeth tries to find out the truth and the stranger asks for more and more from her in return.

This debut was a suspenseful mystery with an exciting conclusion. The Alaskan setting is used to good effect. My only quibble might be that I didn't really believe this was taking place in 1941. Other than the wartime preparations, I didn't get a sense of the time from the way the people spoke or behaved. It's a minor thing, as I still became immersed in the story and, like Elisabeth, I absolutely had to know what had happened to her sister.… (meer)

Living in rural Alaska, Elisabeth is lonely. Soul crushing lonely. A plane comes once a week to deliver supplies and mail,but other than that human contact outside her family is infrequent. Then a stranger arrives....he's a substitute pilot for the supply plane. Alfred Seidel says he has a secret....but he will only tell her if she agrees to three demands. The secret? He knows about the disappearance of Elisabeth's twin sister 20 years before. Elisabeth has been haunted by thoughts of her sister since she vanished....and the obsession Seidel creates will lead to murder and an unraveling of Elisabeth's life and relationships.

I think I liked the setting and the emotional vibe of this book better than I liked the mystery portion of the plot. I can't imagine the mental stress of living isolated in the middle of nowhere....then add in a creepy guy with a very very dark secret. Yikes. Double yikes, in fact. I feel like this book was more about Elisabeth sliding into obsession and a very dark place, rather than about the mystery of her sister's disappearance. Elisabeth changes from a woman dedicated to her child who is trying to make a difficult marriage work into a changed person....pretty much a hot mess....by the end of things. A stranger and his strange secrets and actions upend her life. The vibe and emotion was heavy and dark, and I ended up really not liking Elisabeth or any of the characters.

I've been mulling over this book for more than a week as I tried to decide how I feel about it. The story is good....but, for me, the emotion/darkness of it was difficult to read. Heavy stuff. But in my opinion, a book that leaves me thinking heavy thoughts for several days because I'm having to come to terms with events, character's actions, and the ending.....deserves at least four stars from me. This book left me thinking about how fragile people can be, and how I might react in the same circumstances.

A bit distressing for me....but, all in all, a good story. Excellent debut novel! I will be reading more by this author!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Berkley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**… (meer)

Very fast paced and engrossing. This story is about a woman in Alaska in the '40s trying to hold her family together. She is manipulated by a pilot stalker who claims to have been involved in her sister's disapearence decades earlier. The ending seems to be setting up for a sequel, but I think it works as a standalone book. The atmosphere is 10/10: I almost felt like I was there. The plot also surprised me in places. However, the characters all felt a little flat, especially the family of the main character who seem to act like puppets to further the narrative.… (meer)