First of all I would like to thank Simon and Schuster CA for sending me an Ebook advance copy of The Off Season by Amber Cowie in exchange for my honest review. This thriller will be available for purchase or at your local library on May 14 2024. Please click to preorder here
The description of this book said it was for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware. Say no more, I am totally in.
We meet our main character, Jane, who in the midst of a pretty massive misstep, is running away from her career and trying to repair her identity and fight back against the haters. She has met Dom, an older man who sweeps her off her feet. When the opportunity to spend the off peak season renovating a very remote hotel with Dom and his daughter comes up, Jane sees it as a good way to clear her head and get ready to go back to her job refreshed. But, as her best friend and business partner mentions – why would you want to cosplay “The Shining”?
There are SO many secrets, and everyone is hiding something. We are lied to, things are hidden and omissions that create even more drama ensue as our little thrown together family faces the ramifications of a wild weather system causing the Fraser River to flood. (This actually did happen in 2021, the Coquihalla hiway was washed out in several places, due to damage from an atmospheric river, and people and animals were airlifted to safety. It was impossible for my parents to get to us, so this being in the story added a sense of danger and tension as I remember that being a scary time)
I really enjoyed this book, even though some of the twists seemed a bit over-done. The evil stepmom trope was a little played up but still a good addition to the secrets and lies. There’s a lot of derogatory words thrown around in the last bit so just a trigger warning for that.
All in all, a great mystery and a good reminder why we don’t marry someone we’ve only known a handful of weeks who’s throwing red flags like confetti 😉
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