Jan 21

Jan 21 Saint X - Alexis Schaitkin

2020 is already starting out to be a great year for books. Saint X is one that grabs you, sucking you into it completely until you feel like you are a living, breathing version of the story.

A vacation on Saint X, where the well-to-do come for rest and relaxation, fun in the sun and a chance to get away from their boring but secure lives, is where the story of the Thomas’ begins. The eldest daughter Alison, beautiful, athletic and aloof, mysteriously loses her life on the island, leaving her family to pick up the pieces back home. Her younger sister Claire, who was only seven when Alison dies, must grow up in the shadow of her sister’s death. It isn’t until years later that she meets one of the men thought responsible for Alison’s death. That chance encounter is where the story really takes off.

When a person dies, how does it affect the people left behind? Not just the family of the deceased, but also anyone else who may have been touched by it? The author does a fantastic job interspersing conversations with people who were in Alison’s life, directly or indirectly, before her death and catching up with them afterwards. Claire’s obsession with Clive Richardson, the man believed to be involved in her sister’s death, is the real catalyst of this novel. The author details Claire’s spiral downwards in a way that gives the reader the sense that they are in this spiral with her. As each day passes, Claire’s seemingly normal life unravels and there’s nothing any of us can do (except maybe scream at her as we turn the pages). At times, I wanted Claire to just stop and think about what she was doing. But I know for a fact that I probably would have done the exact same thing had I been in Claire’s shoes.

Saint X is definitely one of those books that will have many readers asking friends and family “have you read it yet?” Thankfully, I’ll be able to answer with a resounding “Yes!”

Saint X will be published February 18, 2020. Make sure to pre-order a copy or buy or borrow one at your local bookstore or public library. I highly recommend it.

I received an advance copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Where to buy: Amazon Barnes and Noble Indiebound