Your neighbour told you that she didn’t want six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal she just couldn’t stand her crying. Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You’ll have the baby monitor and you’ll take it in turns to go back every half hour. Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realised. She’s gone. You’ve never had to call the police before. But now they’re in your home, and who knows what they’ll find there.
When Anne and Marco leave their baby to go to a dinner party next door, they have some doubts but come to the conclusion that she’ll be fine. They have the baby monitor and they’ll go back every half hour. But when they leave the dinner party it quickly becomes apparent that the baby is no longer there. Who took her and why?
I honestly don’t know how this book has such good reviews or has become a best seller. From the get go I couldn’t get on board with the writing style (or lack of it), it’s written in third person present tense and it comes off so badly. It’s honestly one of the worst written books I’ve ever read, the language is boring and repetitive and it just seems like such a strange choice to write it in present tense. I hated all the characters and felt zero sympathy for Anne and Marco, they just so unlikeable. Same goes for the neighbours. Though I have to say I’m still not sure which couple the title is referring to as they’re both as bad!
I kept going with this book in the hopes that somewhere along the line it’d redeem itself, unfortunately it didn’t. The same ideas and language were constantly repeated like the reader wasn’t able to keep up with the story (it’s really not hard, there’s not much too it). It felt very dumbed down and silly. The whole plot was utterly preposterous which sometimes I can deal with in crime novels if it’s done well. Sadly this wasn’t and only served to make me hate the book more. If this hadn’t been such an easy read I’d have probably given up on it after the first few chapters.
In a nutshell, don’t believe the hype. It’s really not worth it.
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
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