The Necklace by Matt Witten

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Susan's daughter, Amy, was 7, she was taken from her upstate New York school and savagely murdered. Twenty years later, Susan's friends and family raise the money to send her on a roadtrip to North Dakota to witness the execution of the man convicted of the crime. However, on the way, everything seems to go wrong, including the fact that she begins to question whether or not the man she's waited 20 years to see die, whom she refers to as "the Monster," is in fact guilty of killing her daughter. But the alternative answers she discovers may be even more disturbing than she could ever imagine.

This book is told along two timelines: one in the past, as Amy disappears and her disappearance is investigated and one in the present, as Susan makes her way to North Dakota for the execution and begins questioning the verdict.

I liked the uniqueness of the premise of this book - a mystery that takes place along a road trip. The logistics alone are super interesting.

The central mystery doesn't really get going until about 40 percent into the book, I would say. A couple times, Susan mentions some small inconsistencies in "the Monster's" testimony or things he says, but she really doesn't begin to seriously question his guilt until much deeper into the book, so the pacing isn't super fast. But I liked the build u because it gives you a good amount of time to see the bigger picture of the crime and the people surrounding it, which will be important later. Understanding why they were so eager to accept the story and see it close is important to its understanding.

Susan as a character was great - she was overanxious, a little neurotic, but in the end she meant well and was just a grieving mother looking for answers. She really embodies everyone who felt like they aren't heard or given a chance.

For as slow burning as the beginning is, the ending is heart-stompingly fast, and it is worth the wait. It's really quite intense and will have you holding your breath.

If you like mysteries that slowly reveal themselves and then pick up pace quickly, this is the book for you. I really enjoyed it!

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