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** spoiler alert ** I applaud what Lindsay Eagar pulled off here. The way she played with past and present tense and all the POVs, first, third and second, added to the dynamic nature of the narrative. Mostly I find this type of writing gymnastics affected, but I think it worked here.

Personal preference lost it one of the stars for me. I am not super familiar with Shakespeare’s Richard III. Only enough to smile that the school’s mascot were The Princes. It was the increasing darkness of the plot that put me off. Normally, hard things happen in books and then things get better. This just drove deeper and deeper into the dark, which I did not enjoy. It may not be fair to dock a star for something that was inevitable about a parody of a Tragedy. But I save one of my stars for how much I enjoyed the book. Many readers will relish the darkness.

It lost another star for plot holes. Rory was less of an unreliable narrator than one that lied by omission. By the end I feel I deserved all the holes filled in. What was she blackmailing Annie about? Maybe it is morbid curiosity that makes me want to know, but I feel entitled to the answer. I stuck with the book to the end and this is fiction not real life. Also, with the two flash-forwards, we knew that Rory was still alive in one and then dead in the other. The final car crash must not have done her in, but what was her intervening life? Was she homeless, living in a park? I listened to the audio, so it was harder to go back and reread, although I did a little and had no answers. If anyone who reads this knows, please enlighten me.

Summer Mini24: 7) BOXING: A strong opening hook