Monday, August 10, 2015

Black- Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin



From Goodreads:
As a sixteen-year-old, Tessa Cartwright was found in a Texas field, barely alive amid a scattering of bones, with only fragments of memory as to how she got there. Ever since, the press has pursued her as the lone surviving “Black-Eyed Susan,” the nickname given to the murder victims because of the yellow carpet of wildflowers that flourished above their shared grave. Tessa’s testimony about those tragic hours put a man on death row.
 
Now, almost two decades later, Tessa is an artist and single mother. In the desolate cold of February, she is shocked to discover a freshly planted patch of black-eyed susans—a summertime bloom—just outside her bedroom window. Terrified at the implications—that she sent the wrong man to prison and the real killer remains at large—Tessa turns to the lawyers working to exonerate the man awaiting execution. But the flowers alone are not proof enough, and the forensic investigation of the still-unidentified bones is progressing too slowly. An innocent life hangs in the balance. The legal team appeals to Tessa to undergo hypnosis to retrieve lost memories—and to share the drawings she produced as part of an experimental therapy shortly after her rescue.
 
What they don’t know is that Tessa and the scared, fragile girl she was have built a  fortress of secrets. As the clock ticks toward the execution, Tessa fears for her sanity, but even more for the safety of her teenaged daughter. Is a serial killer still roaming free, taunting Tessa with a trail of clues? She has no choice but to confront old ghosts and lingering nightmares to finally discover what really happened that night.


My review:
This book was rather surprising for me.

Things I liked:
1) Tessa- I liked her from the get go. She clearly has been through a lot. I found her to be so strong and trying real hard to get passed what happened to her.

2) I loved that this was told in past and present. It was nice to know what happened and to see Tessa in the present as well.

3) This book was compared to Gone Girl which I read last year and loved. I think it lives up to that comparison. It was creepy and twisted.


Things I was not fond of:
1) At times I found this book to be kind of boring. Like not much was happening and I was struggling to finish it.

2) I really didn't find the ending to be satisfying. 

My rating: ♥♥♥♥

*I received this on a read and review basis from NetGalley*

1 comment:

  1. This sounds like a fascinating book! I'm going to have to check it out. On another note, just wanted to let you know I nominated you for the Blogger Recognition's Award :) Details here: http://erikabooksandstars.blogspot.ca/2015/08/blogger-recognition-award.html

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