- Date Read: June 11, 2022
- Publication Date: June 14, 2022
- Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
- Format: Audio Book
- Page Count: 320
- Listening Time: 10 hours 30 minutes
- Print Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
- Audio Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering is billed as a thriller, though I’d classify it as a literary drama with a tinge of mystery. The story follows two timelines and four people who have crossed paths in one or both timelines. As a reader, the main focus is on Molly’s and Jake’s relationship which has a ‘love at first sight’ energy, followed by ‘the one who got away’ energy. As the plot progresses, we learn more about their story – how they met, how they fell apart, and the secrets that were kept both in and around their relationship.
As a literary drama I found the story interesting and quick-paced; it helped make a long car ride enjoyable. As a mystery or thriller, it falls a little short. There is a puzzle to solve, but there aren’t suspenseful or gripping turns. Ultimately, the part that kept this from being a great book for me was the buttoned-up ending. Each character endured pretty awful things (often because of intentional harm caused by another character) and not much was reconciled. The pace was slow background for 75% of the book, medium-paced mystery unveiling for another 15%, then a mad dash to show how each character landed in the last 10%.
If you enjoy non-scary, creepy character books this one may be for you. It’s a “selectively recommend” book from my perspective because it’s well-written and aimed at someone who doesn’t read a lot of thrillers, but wants a bit of mystery or drama. If that is you, then this could be a good fit. I need jumpy and tense parts OR deep character development, so it was a solid “liked not loved” for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing this audio book in exchange for me review – as always, I appreciate it! This book is available tomorrow, June 14, if you are interested in checking it out.
Content warnings: Infertility, Miscarriage, Stalking, Emotional Abuse