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| (Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!) |
Megan Abbott meets M.O. Walsh in Christine Lennon’s compelling debut novel about a group of friends on the cusp of graduating from college when their lives are irrevocably changed by a brutal act of violence.
Present Day…
For two decades, Elizabeth has tried to escape the ghosts of her past…tried to erase the painful memories…tried to keep out the terrifying nightmares. But twenty years after graduating from the University of Florida, her carefully curated life begins to unravel, forcing her to confront the past she’s tried so hard to forget.
1990s, Gainesville, Florida…
Elizabeth and her two closest friends, Caroline and Ginny, are having the time of their lives in college—binge watching Oprah, flirting for freebies from Taco Bell, and breaking hearts along the way. But without warning, their world is suddenly shattered when a series of horrific acts of violence ravage the campus, changing their lives forever.
Sweeping readers from the exclusive corners of sorority life in the South to the frontlines of the drug-fueled, slacker culture in Manhattan in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, when Elizabeth is forced to acknowledge her role in the death of a friend in order to mend a broken friendship and save her own life, The Drifter is an unforgettable story about the complexities of friendships and the secrets that can ultimately destroy us.
my thoughts:
I went to FSU in the late 90s and heard all about Ted Bundy's rampage in a sorority house, which was both terrifying and disturbing to learn about. Talk about creepy and crazy facts to learn about your new school. So, imagine my surprise when I read the blurb about The Drifter - set at UF (nearly two hours from FSU) in the 90s and deals with a serial killer targeting women. How weird is that?! My curiosity was piqued and so I had to read it. I was expecting a story set in a familiar town that would be chock full of suspense and send chills down my spine. Unfortunately, that is not what I got.
Instead, I found myself utterly annoyed and bored by Elizabeth. She is extremely paranoid, nervous, and anxious - to the point that she lurks outside her daughter's school watching her through the window. I get that she had something horrific happen to her best friend in college and she has never gotten over it. I can understand where her paranoia, nerves, and anxiety stem from. However, its been nearly twenty years and she is just getting worse and worse. And frankly, it bothered me (and I'm someone who deals with anxiety). I found that I could not connect with Elizabeth at all. Reading about her carefree life in college didn't make me nostalgic for my college days, it made me want to tell her to grow up. I usually like to relate to something or someone when I'm reading a book - it makes me enjoy the story more. However, this time round, I found myself dreading turning the pages on this extremely slow-paced novel. So, I stopped reading the book. I DNFed it. The Drifter was just not for me.
Of course, this book could be your cup of tea. I suggest you head on over to the link I provided and check out what other book bloggers have to say...
Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: The Drifter
7 comments:
Oh, no. I was hoping for better from this book. Oh, well, at least I don't have to add it to my infinitely long To Read list! :)
Lark, I know. I was hoping for better from this book, too ;( Oh well.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book for the tour.
Heather, thanks for having me on the tour!
FYI: Ted Bundy was late 70's-80's. This book is inspired by REAL crime: Danny Rollin aka. THE GAINESVILLE RIPPER It happened in Aug. 1990 and he killed 5 students.
Wait a minute, you went to college in Florida in the 90s and heard about Ted Bundy but not Danny Rollin who gruesomely murdered five college students and then post their dead bodies in Gainesville in 1990??
And G-vile to Tally is 2.5 hours with zero traffic no pitstops.
*posed not post
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