Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough Review

Hmmm, perhaps I was expecting too much.


Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough
Dark Fiction
Released September 2018
Amazon | Goodreads | Better World Books

Lisa lives for her daughter Ava, her job, and her best friend Marilyn, but when a handsome client shows an interest in her, Lisa starts daydreaming about sharing her life with him too. Maybe she’s ready now. Maybe she can trust again. Maybe it's time to let her terrifying secret past go. Then her daughter rescues a boy from drowning and their pictures are all over the news for everyone to see. Lisa's world explodes, and she finds everything she has built threatened. Not knowing whom she can trust, it's up to her to face her past to save what she holds dear.



My Thoughts:

Behind Her Eyes by this same author was a five star read for me (and yep, I LOVED that ending) but this one was not. I’m giving it a three and that makes me sad because I was so looking forward to another amazingly nasty little read.

CROSS HER HEART started out great. It’s a story of dark secrets and lies and murder. That kind of thing screams my name but I can’t give it a high rating because I saw most everything coming before it was revealed. I am NOT good at the sleuthing and I am not afraid to admit it. I never figure out the murderer or the twisty twists on any of those mystery shows and I’m even worse with books. So, either my brain is getting better at detection, or this book was a little too heavy handed with the clues. I’m guessing it is the latter but it also could be because the characterization was so well done that many little clues stuck in my forgetful brain and lots of things weren't adding up.

The story is about a woman named Lisa. Lisa has a dark past she’s desperately trying to keep hidden now that she’s built a respectable new life and is the mother of a 16 year old daughter named Ava. But someone is haunting her and taunting her with tidbits that remind her that this someone knows all of her secrets and may expose her past misdeeds and ruin her life at any moment. The story is told from the point of view of Lisa, her best friend Marilyn and daughter Ava. I loved the three different point of view because we soon realize that all of these ladies have a little darkness in their lives and are very good at secret keeping.

And that’s all I’m giving you. To say more defeats the purpose of reading the book. Lies are eventually revealed, characterization stays intense and there's plenty of crazy to keep my attention but the fact that the plot reveals, the twists, and the murderer were all so obvious and the stalkers motive so weak, I found myself a very disappointed reader by the end of it all.

Comments

  1. BarbWednesday, October 24, 2018

    I will probably grab this one from the library eventually because I am curious. I also like when author's use multiple POVs so that might help. I have Behind Her Eyes so maybe I should read this one first so the other one doesn't set me up for disappointment with this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bark At The GhoulsWednesday, October 24, 2018

      lol, I say read BEHIND HER EYES and forget about this one until you find a library copy ;)

      Delete
  2. chucklesthescotWednesday, October 24, 2018

    Sorry that you were a bit disappointed by this one. I hate it when that happens!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bark At The GhoulsWednesday, October 24, 2018

      Yeah, I'll read her again though. She has a really dark streak that I enjoy.

      Delete
  3. Sophia RoseWednesday, October 24, 2018

    Just had a big let down myself with a book I wanted to love so I get where you're coming from. I've not read the author so I'll have to look up the five-star one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bark At The GhoulsThursday, October 25, 2018

      It's sad when your expectations are high and the book just doesn't meet them :(

      Delete
  4. Lark Wednesday, October 24, 2018

    Sad that this one wasn't better! At least it wasn't a total disappointment/loss.

    ReplyDelete
  5. sherry fundinWednesday, October 24, 2018

    Everything about the book speaks to me.
    sherry @ fundinmental

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kimberly @ Caffeinated ReviewerWednesday, October 24, 2018

    Hmm, too bad this disappointed you, I am curious about Behind Her Eyes now.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jovita @ Inky ImpressionsWednesday, October 24, 2018

    Oh my goodness, I felt the same as you with this book. I was expecting to be wowed like I was reading Behind Her Eyes. I'm happy I didn't purchase this and borrowed it from the library.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bark At The GhoulsThursday, October 25, 2018

      Me too ! I'm sorry you had the same disappointing experience as myself though.

      Delete
  8. LauraThursday, October 25, 2018

    Yeah, giving too much away spoils the experience for me too. Sorry this one let you down. Sure has a great plot idea.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mary KirklandThursday, October 25, 2018

    Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy this one more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bark At The GhoulsThursday, October 25, 2018

      I think I might need a little break from these types of stories seeing as I'm starting to figure them out too easily.

      Delete
  10. Literary FelineThursday, October 25, 2018

    That is disappointing--when we love one book by an author but not the next. I feel you. I can see why you were excited about this one. I love the premise! I may still give this one a try. We'll see.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bark At The GhoulsMonday, October 29, 2018

      I hope you enjoy it! It wasn't terrible. My hopes were too high :(

      Delete
  11. ailyn koayFriday, October 26, 2018

    i agree that it can be a let down when the ending isn't what we expected, especially when there was such a build up. Though it could be just a hiccup from the author?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bark At The GhoulsMonday, October 29, 2018

      I hope so. I'm definitely going to read her book in the future. I also have about 4 of her older worksin my tbr pile.

      Delete
  12. Erica RobynFriday, October 26, 2018

    Great review!! I almost bought this one, but I was on the fence. Looks like I'll have to snag it from the library! :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jen | Book DenSaturday, October 27, 2018

    Aw, man. :(

    ReplyDelete
  14. Carole's Random LifeSaturday, October 27, 2018

    I have an unread copy of Behind Her Eyes on my bookshelf (I know that this does not surprise you...lol). While I am happy to hear that you gave that book 5 stars, what a bummer that this one wasn't just as good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bark At The GhoulsMonday, October 29, 2018

      Hehee, you are just like me. I need to live to about 200 to read all of my books. I hope you love Behind Her Eyes as much as I did when you get to read it.

      Delete

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