Nothing is working out like she planned. Amanda Cook doesn’t know who is following her or why. She is a simple college student planning out her future, working at the neighborhood taco shop and living with her great aunt. When her best friend's cousin, arrives in town he immediately steals her heart, but someone else wants it more. Her paranoia grows when she spots the same car everywhere she goes and starts getting strange letters in the mail. One night after class, she is attacked. As she fights for her life, she has the heartbreaking realization that her stalker could very well be someone she knows.
Bonnie's razor-sharp eye for detail is perfect for this suspense genre novel combined with a 'coming of age' story. She writes with a nostalgia that takes me back to my own years of growing up, surviving high school and college stresses, and finally facing tough life decisions that must be made. Her characters move through the mundane necessities of life (like job and classes) all the while making choices that will affect them forever.
I feel like I've visited that taco shop, seen the weary workers, and eaten the fantastic food that they produce all while dealing with the big issues of life.
Bonnie does a great job camouflaging the true villain of the story. I usually can spot the ending right away, but I was hooked and unsure and shocked when the denouement finally came. Gives true depth to the phrase 'oh, what a tangled web we weave'.
Well done, Bonnie Tharp - I can't wait for your next thriller.