In The Dark We Forget - Sandra SG Wong

Thriller

Rating: 6.5/10

In the last line of this book our narrator ponders the following, “How differently everything might have turned out.”

Cleo wakes up on the side of a highway with no memory of how she got there, or who she is. That part of the mystery is solved quickly when she’s reunited with her brother. But the relief of that moment is tainted by the discovery of the fact that their parents are missing, and no one knows where their mother was hiding her $47M dollar winning lottery ticket for safe keeping.

And so, the story begins…but it’s the ending that is problematic. When the ending doesn’t land in a thriller, that is typically due to everything that leads up to it.

This book shines in many ways, presenting to the reader a more intricate thriller than is the norm, exploring identity, institutional racism, familial expectations, and cultural dynamics. I love how the author doesn’t shy away from messy relationships. But following the meticulous prose and the imbuing of characters with so much personality, the vague, almost aloof reveal was flimsy.

Ended not with a bang but with a whimper. Nonetheless, worth the read.

Book Pairing(s): Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens, Little Threats by Emily Schultz