Who Are They Really? Before the Fall and The Good Girl

The two books I'm reviewing today share a common theme. Both examine what happens when the face a person shows to the world is at odds with the truth they carry inside.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

This is a book about a plane crash, that ends the lives of nine people. A last-minute passenger and a four year old boy are the only survivors, while the boy's extremely wealthy family and their friends perish beneath the waves.

As the investigators attempt to determine what really happened, readers gain insight into all the parties involved. Each chapter provides another piece of the puzzle, a look into a character's life and soul. The mystery is what caused the plane to crash-was it an accident? Pilot error? A conspiracy to bring down the wealthy and influential?-but it is also the mystery of the human beings involved. 

I was so excited when I found this at a used book sale. There had been so much hype surrounding it, and it was supposed to be amazing.

At first, I wasn't so sure about the hype. 

With everything seemingly being hyped as the next Gone Girl, it takes a lot for a psychological thriller to stand out. It was a good book for sure, but it didn't seem particularly special. 

The story is that of a young woman and her kidnapper, who instead of turning her over to the people who paid him to take her, brings her to a secluded cabin in the woods. The use of before and after chapters was definitely highly effective in building tension, as was the use of alternating narrators. As readers learn from the different characters, it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems, and every character has a truth they're not yet sharing.

But that last chapter proved beyond a shadow of a doubt why this book has been so popular. That last chapter lived up to all the hype. It is a chapter that makes you gasp out loud, and makes you revisit and reexamine everything you just read and thought.

Kubica has definitely gained another fan. I will absolutely be picking up Pretty Baby.