Title: Take It to the Grave: Part 1 of 6
Author: Zoe Carter
Publisher: Harlequin Special Releases
Date of publication: June 1st, 2017
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Number of pages: 64
POV: Alternating 1st person
Series: Take It to the Grave
Take It to the Grave – Book 1
Take it to the Grave – Book 2
Take it to the Grave – Book 3
Take it to the Grave – Book 4
Take it to the Grave – Book 5
Take it to the Grave – Book 6
Where you can find Take it to the Grave: Amazon
Book synopsis (from Goodreads):
It started with an anonymous note…
Sarah Taylor-Cox has a perfect life—a gorgeous husband, a picture-perfect house in the Hampton’s and a beautiful baby, Elliot. Now, the invites are being sent out for Elliot’s christening, and the Taylor—Coxes are determined the party will be the event of the year.
There’s just one chink in Sarah’s carefully constructed calm demeanor—her sister, Maisey, will be coming. The sisters used to be close, but now their lives couldn’t be more different. Surely though, they will slip back into their old ways, and the party will go off without a hitch…
Then, Sarah’s difficult relationship with Maisey is pushed to the back of her mind when she receives a note, one which makes her whole body shake with dread: I know your secret. I’m going to tell.
Part 1 of 6: a riveting new installment in this darkly compelling psychological thriller
My review:
Serial novels are the bane of my existence. On one hand, I love them because they are short and if written right can definitely make you want to read the next book. But if written wrong, they can turn you off of serial novels. Unfortunately, Take It to the Grave is the latter.
I couldn’t get into Sarah’s story. She came across as a neurotic mess that is haunted by something in her past. There is only the barest of clues given, a memory of her and her sister with their father playing in a meadow. Again, I know this is a serial so I know that the clues to the mystery would be dragged out but I really expected more background given. The relationship with her in-laws was toxic and her husband came across as a jerk. I mean, she had to hide the fact that she wasn’t breastfeeding from her mother in law (who was the mother in law from hell) and had to deal with her **friends** making unacceptable comments about her weight.
Maisey, however, was the complete opposite, in ways. She was damaged goods like Sarah but in different ways. She has difficulty maintaining any close relationships and kept people at arm’s length. Towards the end of her story, it is told why she is the way she is but it doesn’t explain the weird flashbacks about the baby or the fact that Maisey has the compulsive need to lie to people to keep appearances up.
I will say that the author did do a great job setting up the scenario for the rest of the books but I do wish that some of the extra scenes really didn’t need to be in the book. Like the sex scene in the Porta-potty. I really could have not used to visual of Sarah getting off in one of those. I think I actually gagged while reading it.
The end was very compelling and if I liked the book, I would have loved to read the next one. But unfortunately, I will have to pass on it.
How many stars will I give Take It to the Grave: 2
Why: I couldn’t connect with Sarah or Maisey. I also thought that some of the clues that showed up in the book about what happened to Sarah and Maisey didn’t give enough information. Also, the sex scene in the Porta potty really, really grossed me out and was the final straw in me not liking the book.
Will I reread: No
Will I recommend to family and friends: No
Age range: Adult
Why: Sex and language
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
