Book 19/30.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Sadie has never had an easy life. Growing up largely on her own, she has been raising her younger sister, Mattie, in an isolated small town, doing everything she can to give them some semblance of a normal life while simply trying to get by.
But when Mattie is found murdered, Sadie’s world falls apart. After a botched police investigation, Sadie takes matters into her own hands, hitting the road and following the few clues she has in an attempt to find her sister’s killer.
Meanwhile, West McCray, a radio personality working on a story about America’s forgotten small towns, hears Sadie’s story at a local gas station and becomes determined to find her. He launches a podcast documenting her journey and begins retracing her steps, trying to piece together what happened and, hopefully, find Sadie before it is too late.
The narrative shifts between West McCray, a radio presenter investigating Sadie’s disappearance, and Sadie herself as she sets out to find her sister’s killer. The contrast between McCray’s detached, measured radio voice and Sadie’s raw, passionate perspective works exceptionally well. You can almost picture Sadie’s story being turned into the latest True Crime special, and that realisation makes her chapters all the more painful to read. You find yourself urging McCray to move faster, dig deeper, and, above all, care more about this vulnerable girl.
This was my first Courtney Summers read, and I was NOT prepared for how heavy the subject matter is 💔 I may have rated it 4 stars, but I know this is a story that will stay with me for a very long time.
** A guide to ratings **
1 star – did not like it
2 stars – it was okay
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – really liked it
5 stars – it was amazing