The Night Before by Wendy Walker // Book Review

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Can I just say that I’m glad no one’s an alcoholic this time around. We have an adult mystery/thriller that more or less follows the familiar plot. Centering on the one question, “Is Laura a killer?”. So of course we are presented with an unfavorable depiction of her. Her remarks about other women being whores and how she’s not like them make her immediately unlikable. It’s meant to act as a red herring so we’re constantly questioning her character. Otherwise, I’m not sure if I want to root for someone who has such horrible opinions of me.

However, there’s some truth to her statements because not everyone has such an intricate family history or such a dangerous kill streak. While the beginning was relatively intriguing, the middle dragged. There weren’t enough clues to keep me strung along. Instead, the pieces were insignificant and cumulated to a lack luster finish. I was also hoping for Rosie to have a more active role aside from being this roundabout detective. There’s something about the relationship between sisters that never fails to enrich a mystery and make the ending powerful.

Instead, we get Laura explaining her past to her date. I’m also confused if her date is the same guy as the womanizer Rosie was chasing. There was a lot of names thrown around but then there was a fake out and I couldn’t follow along. It was messy and didn’t serve a purpose. At best, this is a mediocre book. Laura’s mistrust of other men are validated by her past and I think there could have been an element to it. Yet, what we get is Laura being played off as the “unhinged” one and no one apologizes for anything.

The psychological exposition by a character solely written to do so at the end seemed heavy handed and flimsy. I suppose in this day and age it’s not helpful to spread mistruth about mental illness so the quick, retroactive correction was a haphazard attempt to not demonize people. I recommend this for people who just can’t get enough of thrillers and don’t mind reading something they’ve already read before but with a slightly different cover.

I actually like the blue filer and blur. It draws the eye and I wonder if the cover would be better to have that image entirely. The reveal of a plain white woman underneath is tired but effective. Maybe someone in marketing told the designer that close ups of white women staring into you results in the most sales and this is the compromise.