***I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review
I liked this book. Debbie was the main character. She was vacationing in Spain alone, but her dad often checked in on her by phone. Her sleepwalking turned out not to be so innocent like she had assumed when it’s discovered that a serial killer is trying to frame her for murders. When the killer was introduced, we started to get inside his head. That’s why it’s impressive that I still couldn’t figure out the clue.
The first five chapters were kind of boring to me. I didn’t care about Debbie finding freedom walking in the nude in the wee hours of the night. All I kept thinking was ‘it’s not safe for any lady to do that. Why isn’t she worried about being sexually assaulted?’ Debbie kept talking to herself out in public (well actually maybe screaming in excitement because exclamation points were used), but no one paid attention to her. That was hard to believe.
Chapter Six caught my attention and held it to the end. This chapter introduced a crime scene. I really enjoyed how the author had red herrings throughout the book. I guessed the wrong killer, so it was fun reading the end to see who it really was.
My favorite lines: 1) I was definitely alone. I was in the taxi alone, I was in here alone. 2) Often he joked that he could commit the perfect murder, untraceable. He wondered how many others in his position shared the same dark joke. 3) “Why?” he asked repeatedly, “How could you do this to me Debbie? Don’t you understand sweetheart, don’t you know what you’re doing to me?” The words escaped his lips as a tortured whisper, almost a plea.
I had a lot of questions while I was reading: Where was the dad? Why wouldn’t he come to Spain to be with his daughter if a killer was stalking her? Why was the officer Molina so chill dating Debbie out in public when the killer was clearly obsessed with her? The killer kept killing any guy who touched or flirted with Debbie. Why didn’t any of the Spanish officials or Molina have alarm bells ringing in their ears when Debbie and Molina started dating?
I really liked the very first nude beach scene. It was cool how Debbie was okay with her body to flaunt it. That was the appropriate time to be naked if she wanted to, not in the wee hours of the morning on a busy street.
I saw Debbie as a lost child with daddy issues. She was only eighteen. I didn’t like the detective Molina at all. He seemed incompetent, like he only wanted to date this little girl instead of actually solve a case. He was forty-five, and I couldn’t understand why he couldn’t find a woman his own age. I knew Debbie liked older men, but I cringed throughout their romantic scenes. I guess I’m a prude because that was too much of an age gap for me…