October put me in a thriller mood and I remembered by ARC of A Line in the Dark. I’ve always been meaning to read more Malinda Lo and so when I saw reviews of this as being a twisty thriller, I knew I had to read it. It didn’t hurt that it was last month’s Backlist Bookworm pick! Keep reading this book review to see what I thought of this book, if you weren’t in the chat!
Summary
The most important thing is that Jess Wong is Angie Redmond’s best friend, even if Angie can’t see how she truly feels. It’s okay that Jess is the girl on the sidelines that nobody notices. That means she’s free to watch everyone else and be at Angie’s side. But when Angie starts falling for Margot, a girl from the nearby boarding school, Jess can already see what’s going to happen. And suddenly her gift for observation is a curse.
As Angie drags Jess further into Margot’s circle, Jess finds more than her friend’s growing crush. Secrets lie just beneath the carefree surface of this world, and when they come out, Jess knows Angie won’t be able to handle the consequences. When the inevitable darkness finally descends, Angie will need her best friend.
Review
A Line in the Dark is this thriller about friendship, love, and sacrifice. I just wanted to start off by saying I want more thrillers with friendship in them! A Line in the Dark is another one I’ll add to my list, but I want more! At the same time, I also loved how Jess is not only an artist, but also draws comic books. I am a huge fan of artistically talented characters, probably because I am as artistic as a potato.
Most of my notes from reading are just full of exclamations and twists and turns. A great thriller relies on this pit in your stomach suspense. Lo takes us on a journey about jealously, manipulation, and mystery. The biggest thing that threw me off was that Part One is in first person, where as Part Two is in third person. A Line in the Dark revolves around letting the readers speculate and process alone. It’s a book that is focused on its characters, their decisions, all those choices we make that end up meaning something more. Those relationships and moments we try to fix and change, but end up entrapping us.
It’s a thriller that kept my attention as I tried to figure out the truth of what was happening. While reading A Line in the Dark, I was very grateful to be reading this with a book club so I would have more people to chat about my feelings. Even days after finishing, I find my feelings changing and, in general, just being more in awe of Malinda Lo’s writing and exploration of the complexity of relationships, what we will do for who we love, and the sacrifices we make.
Find A Line in the Dark on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.