ARC REVIEW: STILL MINE by Amy Stuart

STILL MINE by Amy Stuart

The Girl on the Train meets The Silent Wife in this taut psychological thriller.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU VANISH FROM YOUR LIFE AND LEAVE NO STORY BEHIND?

SOMEONE WILL MAKE ONE UP FOR YOU.

Clare is on the run.

From her past, from her ex, and from her own secrets. When she turns up alone in the remote mining town of Blackmore asking about Shayna Fowles, the local girl who disappeared, everyone wants to know who Clare really is and what she's hiding. As it turns out, she's hiding a lot, including what ties her to Shayna in the first place. But everyone in this place is hiding something from Jared, Shayna's golden-haired ex-husband, to Charlie, the charming small-town drug pusher, to Derek, Shayna's overly involved family doctor, to Louise and Wilfred, her distraught parents.

Did Shayna flee? Was she killed? Is it possible she's still alive?

As Clare uncovers the mysteries around Shayna's disappearance, she must confront her own demons, moving us deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of lies and making us question what it is she's really running from. Twisting and electrifying, this is a get-under-your-skin thriller that will make you question what it means to lose yourself and find yourself in the most unlikely places.

Title: Still Mine

Author: Amy Stuart

Source: ARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

 Publication Date: March 1, 2016

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD   

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This one was good, but it had some problems, in my opinion. I think because it focused so much on Clare and her problems and story more than Shayna and finding her that it took away from the mystery surrounding Shayna's disappearance. As well, the summary makes it seem as though Clare and Shayna have some sort of shared past, but this is not the case. I think it lacked something on the suspense side as well. It was clear to me from about 25% what had happened to Shayna and everything in the story after that just added to my assumptions until they were proved to be correct.

I think part of the problem for me was the "journal" entries at the end of each day. They made the story pretty obvious and predictable in my opinion. I think it would have been more suspenseful to leave that portion out because then the reader wouldn't have any assumptions about Shayna and her whereabouts other than what was in the story itself. Because of this, it has no rereadability for me.

The highlight for me was Clare and her story. I really enjoyed getting to know Clare and her past. I think her running was something that I really resonated with and I liked that she got to know herself as she got to know the story behind Shayna. Clare was complex and had her own issues but never really shied away from that. I liked that she was a bit self-destructive because when we are backed up against a wall, we are all self-destructive in a way. As well, I liked the portrayal of her relationship with her ex in this. I think it was realistic and served as a bit of a warning to others but also demonstrated that sometimes it doesn't matter what other people say or think, you will just do what you have to in order to survive.

I would like to get to know Malcolm more though. We got brief glimpses to him and his story, but I think he has an interesting character and past and I would like to know all of it. Or at least as much as he is willing to show. I would really like Malcolm and Clare to continue in another story going around finding women who don't want to be found and hiding them even further underground. That is a story I could get behind.