No Such Person by Caroline B Cooney

No Such Person by Caroline B CooneyNo Such Person by Caroline B. Cooney
Narrator: Erin Spencer
Published by Listening Library
Published on 14 July 2015
Genres: Contemporary, United States, Young Adult
Format: Audiobook
Source: my local library
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RRP: $9.99
3 Stars

From the author of the multimillion-copy bestseller The Face on the Milk Carton, this riveting new thriller, set against the backdrop of a bucolic summer town on the Connecticut River, will have readers guessing until the very last page, as a seemingly innocent sibling rivalry and newfound young love turn into something much more devastating than anyone could ever have imagined.

Miranda and Lander Allerdon are sisters. Miranda is younger, a dreamer, and floating her way through life. Lander is older, focused, and determined to succeed. As the girls and their parents begin another summer at their cottage on the Connecticut River, Miranda and Lander’s sibling rivalry is in high gear. Lander plans to start medical school in the fall, and Miranda feels cast in her shadow.

When the Allerdons become entangled in an unimaginable tragedy, the playing field is suddenly leveled. As facts are revealed, the significance of what has happened weighs heavily on all. How can the family prepare for what the future may hold?

While I enjoyed this book, with all the drama and angst, and the setting was beautiful, the atmosphere was heavy with dread, and it did seem suspenseful, I do not really consider it a mystery.

I mean sure, someone was murdered, and someone was framed for that murder, but the book didn’t go into investigating this at all.

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There was some low-key half-hearted attempt at trying to figure out who some guy with  a fake name really was, using social media, but there was no plan on how this could help solve the framing. There was very little motivation from any of the characters on how to save the older sister. They just all kind of stood around saying how terrible this was, and trying to raise money for lawyers and stuff, and realising that although they had nice things, they had no money for important stuff.

The book was mostly about how beautiful and hot and slow the summer days were out at this riverside cottage, and Miranda thinking about how Lander couldn’t have done this, and flashbacks of Lander’s summer infatuation, and how horrible it was to be in jail for suspected murder. There was some self-aware realisations from Miranda that her parents were in terrible debt because they spent all their money on their elder daughter now accused of murder, but there wasn’t any sibling rivalry – Miranda very clearly loved and adored Lander, and Lander very obviously was so self-absorbed she barely noticed her younger sister.

The side characters were, I don’t know, present? There was one character Miranda couldn’t stand but by the end may have been developing feelings for.

I just… nothing happened.

I did still enjoy it. It wasn’t boring, because the writing style and the descriptions drew me in. I listened to this on audio, and the narrator, Erin Spencer, was fine. Not brilliant, but certainly not deficient in any way.

However, I never really cared about the so called mystery, and I hoped Miranda would actually do something to help her sister rather than mope around the cottage feeling sorry for herself.

Nemo
Nemo

About Nemo

A lover of kittens and all things sparkly, Nemo has a degree in English Literature and specialises in reviewing contemporary, paranormal, mystery/thriller, historical, sci-fi and fantasy Young Adult fiction. She is especially drawn to novels about princesses, strong female friendships, magical powers, and assassins.

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