He's in his 30s, a virgin, and has had his employment as a geography teacher stopped due to allegations of sexual misconduct, which he vehemently denies. He also happens to be residing in his aunt's spare bedroom. He accidentally enters the murky world of incel—involuntary celibate—forums while looking for professional assistance online, where he meets the charismatic, enigmatic, and evil Bryn.

The Fours family, led by father Roan, a child psychologist, and mother Cate, a physiotherapy, resides across the street from Owen. The Fours family, however, has a negative impression of their neighbor Owen. Their teenage daughter claims he followed her home from the train station one night because he is a little creepy.

Young Saffyre Maddox was a patient of Roan Fours for three years during this time. When their therapy is over, she feels abandoned and looks for other ways to stay connected to him. She follows him in the shadows and discovers more about Roan and his family than she ever intended. Then, on Valentine's Day, Saffyre Maddox vanishes, with Owen Pick being the last to see her alive.

My Review

I'm not sure how to review this book, to be completely honest. Not because I don't like it, I do but rather because I'm not entirely satisfied. Hopefully this makes sense, hehe. I'll start now without revealing too much about the storyline.

It certainly has quite spooky moments. Throughout the story, the reader switches between Owen Pick, Saffyre Maddox, and Cate Fours, three separate points of view.

Although everything "come together" at the end, I didn't find the plot to be really emotional, and it was less unpredictable than she tends to make it. I honestly think that the underlying truth that would have raised it was absent in this instance.

This story has numerous facets, and as we read it, we uncover a variety of lies and truths. Jewell sets up an interesting slow-burn read that weaves between a lot of people who might be the one we are waiting for with excellent delivery and timing. Sadly, as the story nears its end, I was hoping for a climax but instead felt like it ended on a flat note.

However, I genuinely enjoyed the writing and the twists. Both the interplay between families and the characters' psychology and personalities are fascinating. In all honesty, it is why I picked them. I perceived the author as gently conveying a strong message against stereotyping and a warning to readers to be mindful of how their own unconscious prejudices affect their thinking.

This book captured my attention and I read it fairly quickly. Nevertheless, it's a solid book that will keep you turning the pages and eventually reach a satisfactory (while sometimes unsatisfying to me) finish.

My ratings score:

★★★★★ Fantastic! Made me go through a lot of emotions & the entire book is incredibly beautifully done! 

★★★★ Memorable! Despite its shortcomings, this book was incredible and taught us a lot. 

★★★ Good work! Nothing particularly remarkable, but still nice.

★★ Meh... Mediocre with great room for improvement.

★ Extremely Poor.