This was May’s pick for one of my (two) local book clubs, and while the ending felt a bit rushed, this was a fast-paced, dark thriller that would make a great summer read.
When her mother gets a “normal” job in Lake Tahoe and sends Nina to a fancy high school, Nina can imagine a future for herself with a prestigious college degree and a high-paying career. However, everything quickly falls apart when her mother’s boyfriend catches Nina with his son (Nina’s secret boyfriend) and thinks it was all a big con. Years later, Nina finds herself an unemployed art history major drowning in debt and trying to pay for her mother’s prohibitively expensive cancer treatment, and becomes a con artist herself. Her latest job takes her back to Lake Tahoe where she focuses her attention on Vanessa, the privileged, wealthy sister of her high school sweetheart.
This is a twisty novel that takes the reader into the thoughts of both Nina and Vanessa, each chapter upping the stakes in the cat and mouse game they are playing with each other. And, it’s not so clear cut who is using who and who the reader should ultimately want to win the game.
The rest of the characters are horrible (outside of Nina’s high school boyfriend/Vanessa’s brother) and have no actual redeeming qualities, but I really liked the complexity of the women’s characters and their relationship with each other.
Yes, the ending wrapped up really quickly and was a bit too easy, but honestly, since it was foreshadowed in the prologue so it wasn’t too surprising, and it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that it didn’t drag on. And, since I’m a procrastinator, having a book club book that is fast read does make it easier to make it to the meetings.