Blurb:
She loves her husband. She’s obsessed by a stranger. She’s a devoted mother. She’s prepared to lose everything. She knows what she’s doing. She’s out of control. She’s innocent. She’s guilty as sin. She’s living two lives. She might lose both.
My Review:
Julia is a loving wife and a caring mother. Murder of her sister, Kate, has left her and her family in a great mess. Julia resolves to find the murderer of her sister.On searching Kate’s place, Julia finds log-in credentials to a hookup site. She is sure that one of the persons that Kate had been talking to has killed her.To find out the truth, she has gone way too deep in the mess. Will she survive or meet the fate of Kate? Will she find Kate’s killer? Will she be able to get back to a normal life?
Second Life is a story about love, fantasies, adultery, addiction, and a web of lies. It talks about the dark world of online dating. The author has successfully maintained the twists and turns throughout the story. Whenever it seems that the story is too predictable, the author comes up with yet another twist.
Julia appears to be a dumb character. It is a kind of story where you can’t stop yourself from cursing the protagonist, begging them to not do something stupid. But I think the personality of Julia created by the author is real, hence, unlikeable. She has recovered from addictions—first heroin, then alcohol. Now she is getting addicted to the case of her sister, to find the murderer, to a stranger from a hookup site. She knows the possible dangers of what she is doing, but she can’t stop herself. The ability to know the difference between right and wrong and still ending up in a mess is what makes her real, even if not likable.
The story develops pace in the last one-third part of the book. But it never felt boring. The author is able to make the reader immerse in Julia’s mind and her life.
Second Life makes you question who you trust. It makes you question who is right and who is wrong. I felt that too much was done for creating a mysterious plot. Although characters were written nicely, there was not a single character that I liked. There was a lack of a strong personality in the characters.
The story has an open ending, which didn’t work out well for me. I was really hoping for a closure to the story.
Overall it was a great read. If you like to read a thriller which is not too fast and doesn’t have a lot of action, then you should definitely read this book.