Publisher: Berkeley
Publication Date: March 2020
An edgy and haunting debut novel about a group of friends who reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance.
Julie is missing, and the missing don't often return. But Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and she feels in her bones that her best friend is out there, and that one day she'll come back. She's right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she's been or what happened to her.
The Return is told through Elise's point of view. Her friend Julie goes missing for two years. When she returns, Elise, Mae and Molly travel to a hotel and spa for a girls' weekend and reunion with Julie. Quickly, they realize there is something different about their best friend. I wanted to love this book, but I just didn't
I was all in for this book from the start. I was intrigued by the synopsis and the frist 2/3 of the book was good. What killed the book for me, was the last 1/3 of the book. Don't get me wrong I loved the setting of the book. The hotel was gloomy and creepy and the author did a great job of setting a spooky and mysterious atmosphere. I enjoyed the characters. I appreciated that we got some back story on four women. I do kind of wish we had more perspectives than just Elise's.
What ruined the book for me was the ending. I was invested in trying to figure out what happened to Julie during her two years away. I was also invested knowing what was really happening to her because it seemed pretty horrific. If you are going to take the time to have your "villain" explain what happened to her and what she has become, at least make it clear. Because it wasn't. So overall, I was disappointed with the reveal and the ending of the book. I'm not sure I would really recommend this one.
How disappointing. I've got this one on hold at my library.
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