Author: Carys Jones
Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: October 2020
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: Five names on a list. The first two are dead. The third one is yours.
Beth Belmont runs every day, hard and fast on the trail near home. She knows every turn, every bump in the road. So, when she spots something out of place - a slip of white paper at the base of a tree - she's drawn to it.
On the paper are five names. The third is her own.
Beth can't shake off the unease the list brings. Why is she on it? And what ties her to the other four strangers?
Curiosity getting the better of her, Beth looks up the first two names, only to find that they're both dead.
Is she next?
Delving into the past of the two dead strangers, the truth Beth finds will lead her headlong into her darkest and most dangerous nightmares...
My Thoughts: Upon meeting Beth Belmont initially, the reader is given a strong impression that someone is targeting her and means to do her harm. While out jogging one morning, Beth finds a piece of paper with five names, her name is the third. She doesn’t know the other people or even recognize the names, so she begins to research the names and discovers the first two names on the list are dead under very suspicious circumstances.
What does this mean?
Is she next?
Who is the author of the list?
Why is she being targeted?
I had all manner of theories regarding the above questions, and I was completely wrong about all of it. This story has an excruciatingly slow build as the author takes the reader into the past, introducing us to a young girl named Ruby, who is institutionalized and is less than cooperative with her therapy. Trying to understand the relevance between Ruby and Beth was frustrating, but I when I finally connected the dots, I needed to know more. The author also adds passages from the point of view of the list’s author, which were even more convoluted and confusing. This unnamed character spends the majority of the book watching Beth, but does not reveal their identity, reasons or agenda until nearly the end. There were so many twists and turns in this story that I started to feel dizzy.
Beth, herself, is very complex and hard to relate to or get to know. She lives in a house with her boyfriend, but outside of jogging, appears to have no goals, hobbies or career aspirations. Her boyfriend encourages her to do more with her life and not waste her talent working at the cinema loading the movie reels. She suffers from nightmares on a regular basis but refuses to talk about it and does not appear to have any friends or close associates. She struck me as a very lonely and isolated character.
My Final Verdict: The audiobook was narrated by Charlotte Worthing, who did an admirable job voicing all of the different characters, which made following the timelines and knowing who was speaking easier for this reader. I may not have finished this book if I was reading the print or e-book edition.
What do you say about a book that completely builds up the story, leading the reader in one direction, but then does a complete 180 and goes somewhere the reader does not expect? I say give it a shot and prepare to be shocked and surprised at what these characters reveal about themselves, their actions, their lives and each other.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of The List from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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