Way back in November, The Suspenseful Clues and Thrilling Reviews book club decided to read Descent by Tim Johnston. I was really excited about this pick since it had been on my TBR pile for quite some time and I had been looking for an excuse to read it. However, now that I have finished this book, I have some seriously mixed feelings.
This review is already feeling like a tough one to write; bear with me!
Initially, the plot intrigued me. The story surrounds a family who takes a final family trip to the Rocky Mountains before their daughter goes off to college and end up suffering a great loss. As the family patriarch and matriarch make final attempts to save their relationship, their children go missing and, hours later, their son is found injured and their daughter never returns. The family is left in shambles. The story that follows attempts to discuss what happened to Caitlin, how the family moves on and what happens when families suffer great loss.
Sounds intriguing enough, right?
I think maybe if the book was stripped down to the bare bones, I may have enjoyed it more; I am not sure if this is typical of Johnston’s writing style but I felt like there was a lot of plot points that were not completely relevant. I felt confused by the number of extra characters and scenes that felt like they had nothing to do with the actual plot of the book; there were some confusing relationships and trips. I feel like due to the amount of “fluff” and a bit of mismarketing, it didn’t feel much like a thriller. To me, it felt more like contemporary fiction.
I feel like for the reasons above, the pacing was off for me. It felt too slow and I didn’t find myself completely hooked. This one didn’t make me feel compelled to turn the pages, I felt like was reading it purely to finish what I started instead of enjoying the book.
Obviously, I was not the right reader for this book, especially since I am known to be a fan of fast-paced, on the edge of your seat style thrillers.
Did anyone else read this one? Am I the only one who felt like it was lacking?? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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