Robyn and Cat are hosting their sibling dinner party. In attendance is Robyn’s brother Michael and his new girlfriend Liv, a psychiatrist specialized in false memories. Cat’s brother Nate brings his new French girlfriend Claudette. Willa, Robyn’s high school friend, with her fiancé Jamie, is also present. As the night progresses, it’s obvious that Willa is still mourning her missing sister, who disappeared over two decades ago. As the guests become engrossed with Liv’s specialization, the night might just answer some secrets that have been in hiding for years.
Alternating between the present dinner party, and when they were teens; our narrators start from Robyn’s perspective, then to Willa’s, and finally we get a glimpse into the events that lead to Willa’s sister, Laika’s disappearance. The way the narrations are separated made the story feel almost as if they were three different stories, instead of a single interwoven story. We also get quite a bit of background from all three’s perspective and while I normally love getting ALL THE INFO on our main characters, there were parts that seemed more drawn out than necessary. In the end, the different POVs made the story feel slow and certain events repetitive.
This was not what I expected to read based on the synopsis and think it should be marketed as more a literary mystery more than a thriller. While I was hoping to get a page turning thriller, this was more of a slow, character driven, emotional family drama. I think I would have enjoyed this story more if I had gone in with a different expectation, but ultimately this didn’t cut it for me. If you want a slow burn literary mystery, then this might be perfect for you.
TW: Abuse, while not graphic is certainly a prime topic of the story.
Things Don’t Break on Their Own is out now. Thank you to Crown Publishing for my advanced copy in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.
