Elle Marr writes with a beautifully lyrical, descriptive style that really helps to capture the atmosphere of Paris, of a beautiful, romantic city with a seedy underbelly brought into stark focus for Shayna, the first-person narrator of this novel who arrives in Paris after receiving the most devastating news of her life - the notice of her twin sister Angela’s death. On entering Angela’s apartment, however, her attention is caught by a message on the whiteboard, a message in their secret twin code nobody else could possibly interpret. A note which tells her Angela is alive - and to trust no one.
With a serial killer on the loose in Paris and human traffickers working in the catacombs below, Shayna must try to retrace the steps of the twin she’s been estranged from for three years and figure out Angela’s cryptic message.
I have to admit, I got really frustrated really quickly. With an unbreakable code at her fingertips, why didn’t Angela just leave a message saying “(name redacted because spoiler) kidnapped me and he’s after you too?” She was even able to leave a second message later and STILL didn’t take the opportunity to tell Shayna what was actually happening, which left Shayna completely vulnerable.
There were a few too many loose ends as well - who were the fake policemen who tried to grab Shayna, and why did they never appear again? What the heck was with the brothel and the human trafficking, because that angle really never did get cleared up properly? Did Angela ever get her identity back after being declared dead? It was all just way too open-ended for my liking.
Despite the beautiful writing and a plot which was really rather clever, the obvious plot holes and threads which weren’t tied off at the end mean I can’t really say I liked this. I’ll give it three stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.
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