Behind These Four Walls by Yasmin Angoe

 

My thoughts

This is my first book by this author. 

While I did think this was a slow burn story and it drove me crazy in places, it was an ok read. I didn't like a lot of the characters and could not connect with them. I really didn't like the main character Isla. She could have been a very strong woman but in so many places she came across as weak. At first she is ok but then she does a lot of stupid things that someone in her line of work just would not do. 

This really was a slow burn story. The beginning will pull you in but then about a third of the way it loses something. But when you hit the seventy percent point it seems to take off again. 

A story of two friends. Best friends. One is an orphan who left the home she was in. Isla and Eden became the best of friends. Eden was caring for her mother who was dying and Isla was there helping. Eden loves her mother very much and has hostility for her father. Isla has no idea what is in store when they leave to. Eden says she has some loose ends to tie up after her mom dies. She needs to take care of something. When she hops in the van and leaves it's the last time Isla sees her friend.

Isla wants to know what happened to her friend. It's ten years later and she makes it her mission to find her or find out what happened. It's all tied to the mega rich family. The Corrigans. Victor Corrigan is being presented an award. He is not that excited about it but does let Isla follow and write a paper on him and how he came to be who he is. The things she uncovers are suppose to be kept buried though. She also finds out things about her best friend, Eden. So many secrets her friend has kept from her. 

Each Corrigan family member seems to have big secrets. Especially Victor's wife. I really disliked her. She was a bad woman. She was also Victor's second wife. 

There are four Corrigan children, until there is not. Until there is only three. The Corrigan's are multi billionaires. More money than sense it seems. I liked Victor but he could be brash at times. Though I guess he had to be. But he was human. He had heart. 

The last thirty percent of this book had me captivated. I didn't want to put it down. It saved the whole story for me. I'm glad I finished it even though I didn't like the whole story a lot. It dragged in places that could have been so much better. Not that I'm an author but I do know a good story when I read one. This one was ok. Not great. Just ok.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.

3 stars 

About

From the author of Not What She Seems, Yasmin Angoe’s thriller explores revenge, morality, corruption, and wealth as a woman sets out to uncover the truth behind her friend’s disappearance and expose the powerful family behind it.

Isla Thorne had a rough start in life. Orphaned young, she spent her formative years in a group home where she met her best friend, Eden Galloway. At sixteen, they decide to run away to LA…but Eden never makes it.

It’s been ten years since Eden vanished. And Isla’s determined to find her.

She begins at the last place Eden visited: the Corrigan mansion in Virginia. Eden claimed to have unfinished business there. Posing as an aspiring journalist, Isla insinuates herself into the wealthy family’s home and begins searching for the truth.

The more she digs, the more Isla discovers Eden isn’t who she thought she was. Was she even a victim, or did Eden plan this all along? Desperate for answers and to keep her identity hidden, Isla finds an ally in one of the Corrigan sons. But as she wades deeper into this power-hungry family’s secrets and lies, she finds herself in the crosshairs of a bloodline that’s more lethal than loyal.