First Line: "You look...exactly like her."
It's been three months, and Lena Nguyen refuses to believe how her identical twin sister, Cambry, died. The official police story is that Cambry drove to a remote bridge seventy miles outside Missoula, Montana, and jumped two hundred feet to her death. Lena is determined to uncover the truth, so she gets a cassette recorder, packs up her sister's car, and drives to the bridge.
First on her agenda is talking with the highway patrolman who discovered her sister's body. Corporal Raymond Raycevic agrees to meet Lena at the scene. He's sympathetic and forthright, but the more he talks, the more Lena believes his story doesn't add up.
Lena will do anything to learn the truth, but as her sister's final hours begin to come into focus, Lena finds herself fighting for her own survival... and learning that she didn't know her sister as well as she thought she did.
~
Author Taylor Adams certainly knows how to set a scene and ratchet up the suspense, and he was wise to let readers occasionally hear Cambry's voice as her final hours on earth unfolded. However, what could have been a white-knuckle, edge-of-my-seat read turned into a bit of a mess.
First and foremost, I didn't care one little whit about any of the characters. The bad guys didn't even drum up much of a response, and Lena-- although some of her plans showed signs of genius-- was so hostile that I gave up on her, too. What kind of a reader am I? One that has to have at least one character in a book that holds my interest, even if it's the bad guy. This didn't happen in Hairpin Bridge.
Second-- and most important-- was the plot. The first half of the book was good. The pace was steady and everything flowed well, but then the second half of the book came unglued. I'm probably dating myself with the analogy I'm going to use, but as a reader, I felt like a playing card stuck in the bicycle spokes: I kept getting slapped upside the head by one plot twist after another in rapid succession until the whole thing became unbelievable.
There are some good things in Hairpin Bridge, but ultimately, I found it weighed down by an unbelievable plot and unlikable characters. Your mileage may certainly vary.
Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams
ISBN:
9780063065444
William Morrow © 2021
Hardcover, 320 pages
Thriller, Standalone
Rating: C-
Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen
For me, anyway, Cathy, if I don't care about any of the characters, I won't stay engaged in a story. Even if the premise and so on are interesting, the characters have to matter to me. Sorry to hear the plot fell apart for you, too, because it sounded like an interesting premise, and I could see how it could have been gripping. Well, here's a book I probably won't be adding to the wish list...
ReplyDeleteI think that would be a good decision, Margot. Our reading DNA has shown in the past that we are closely related.
DeleteUh oh, I need to like someone, too. I've had several plots fall apart in books this summer. The disappointment has a serious effect on whether I try an author again.
ReplyDeleteI don't have to like the character, but there must be at least one that holds my interest. I finished this book just to find out what really happened to the sister, and I doubt I'll be reading more from this author.
DeleteUnbelievable plot twists and unlikable characters. Not a good combination!
ReplyDeleteNot at all!
DeleteYou've read it so I don't have to.
ReplyDeleteI'm not spending time on books I don't like within a certain number of pages, but I"m also heeding bloggers' opinions.
Somehow, it's comforting for me to know that I didn't add to your TBR this time around. ;-)
DeleteNope. When you don't like a book, it ddoesn't go on the list.
ReplyDelete