There was a fair bit of hype, on social media and the various book groups I look at, about this book. 21 envelops within a book, to be read one a day over three weeks.
Each envelope contained a chapter. The back of the book carried this quote from the book.
Luca, have you forgotten your sister already?
You used to play hide-and-seek in the garden, until the day you couldn’t find her. She vanished. The Police, the search parties, the calls, all for nothing.
It’s been ten years. Half your life. Ten years with no answers. How, who why? You should know something Luca……
Your Sister is still alive. But in 21 days she will be dead That is unless you do exactly as I say
So Luca…..Are you ready to play a game?
That sets the tone for the book. A twenty year old man moves from France to London to work in a book shop. Ten years ago his little sister vanished into thin air, never to be seen again.
Over the next 21 chapters, each in an envelope within a cleverly designed book, Luca is approached by a mystery person who communicates by leaving letters, or getting passers by to pass messages.
Some of the letters contain challenges, increasingly more unlikely, increasingly more violent, that Luca must complete or his missing sister will be killed.
He is given evidence that she is alive, a video that can only be her.
All he has to do to save her, and see her again, is follow the instructions left in the mysterious red envelopes.
There are so many holes in this story.
Not least of which is why Luca doesn’t go straight to the police, either in the UK or France.
Why the police aren’t investigating some of the crimes Luca carries out.
Why Luca is not seen as being suspicious by the people he comes into day-to-day contact with.
My honest opinion of this book is that it is more hype than substance.
If it had been presented as a simple book, the story wouldn’t get a second look by most publishers.
The design of the book is the only thing that made me buy it.
And that is why I’m including it in my review blogs.
I don’t, as a rule, post negative reviews. The reason for that is because I believe reading is subjective. Books I like other people wouldn’t. Books I don’t like other people will.
Much like my experience with film reviews by Mark Komode. I know that anything he raves over I won’t like, and anything he pans, I usually find myself enjoying.
I would hate to review a book negatively and put somebody off it, who might ultimately like it.
So why post this review.
I think the publisher has opened themselves up to this type of criticism.
This book has been hyped all over social media. It’s been hard to go on Facebook or TikTok over the last month or so without seeing posts about this book.
I hadn’t really seen much of a synopsis to this book beyond the fact that it contained 21 letters, that should be read over 21 days, to unfold a mystery about a missing girl and save her life.
It was the uniqueness of the design of this book that made me buy it.
The promise of something different.
I got different, its very cleverly designed, but……
The story is weak, unrealistic, and dare I say it, not very imaginative or challenging.
If you want a pretty book to sit on your bookshelf or table, a book that you can show people to talk about its design, then this is a good book for you.
If you are looking for a thriller story, a book along the lines of the usual Crime Fiction stories we are graced with many of at the moment. Then you will be disappointed
If I gave star reviews I would give the design 5/5. The story itself would only get a 2/5
A warning. Amazon shows this as a children’s book with a reading age of 14+. There are some graphic scenes, including the killing of a pet dog, that would make me suggest that it should not listed as “children’s” literature.
Pages: 422. Publisher: Simon & Schuster
