Depressing and Disturbing, Carpenter's Newest Still Makes for Diverting COVID Reading

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Dove Jarrod is known far and wide as an evangelist and faith healer.  Only her granddaughter, 24-year-old Eve Candler, knows the truth: Dove is a fraud.  As head of fundraising for The Charles and Dove Jarrod Foundation, Eve's committed to upholding her grandmother's reputation as a miracle worker, even though Dove has admitted privately that she's no such thing.  When a strange man threatens to expose her grandma as not just a fake but also a murderer, Eve knows she has to stop him.  Dove may be the former, but there's no way she's the latter.  Or is she?  With the stranger breathing down her neck, Eve has no choice but to dig into her family's past to find its real truth—before everything her family has worked so hard to build and protect crumbles to nothing.

I'm a big fan of Emily Carpenter's unsettling thrillers.  Some are better than others, of course, and her newest, Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters, isn't one of my favorites.  Which isn't to say it's not an engrossing read.  It is.  The plot is a little patchy, but it still kept me riveted.  I saw some of the twists coming but there were enough surprises to keep the story suspenseful and intriguing.  This isn't a happy book (Carpenter's novels rarely are), but for the most part, I enjoyed this immersive read.  It made for a distracting COVID read, even though it's sad and depressing.  

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  You?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, violence, blood/gore, disturbing subject matter, depictions of illegal drug use, and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC from the generous folks at Lake Union Publishing via those at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!