Title: The One That Got Away
Author: Annabel Kantaria
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 462
Rating: 4*/5
Annabel Kantaria – The One That Got Away
Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.
This one left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s well-written, well-edited and well-presented, and it does feature a story line that basically forces the reader to keep on turning page after page to see what happens next. But on the other hand, it’s nothing new. In fact, it’s basically Gone Girl, repackaged to fit a British audience. So it’ll probably sell a lot of copies and become a critical success, and my own feelings as a reader are effectively moot. Still, I’ll have a go.
Basically, this book follows the story of what happens when a successful businesswoman goes to her high school reunion and bumps into her old flame, who now happens to be a wealthy businessman and successful philanthropist. He still likes her and he makes a move, even though he’s married, and you’ll have to read the book to find out the rest because I don’t want to spoil it for you.
The reason it’s like Gone Girl is that the male and female leads are both manipulative, and that brings me on to the same problem with this book that I also had with Gone Girl – neither of the main characters are likeable, which makes it hard for me to care what happens to them. I mean, they do some awful things to each other – which people have a habit of doing – but I found it difficult to feel sorry for anyone. They all deserved what they got.
Annabel Kantaria
I also thought that the ending was a little rushed, and while it does wrap the story up, it comes almost out of nowhere. It felt a bit like I’d powered through the book only to get to the end and find out that the whole thing was a dream. It was just too quick, too neat and too unbelievable, although I can also understand why the author did it in the way that she did.
But despite all this, I can’t award it anything less than a 4/5, and the reason for that is simple. Whether it’s derivative or not, it’s still well-written, well-paced and plenty easy to read. I got through it in a day, and it’s simply that kind of book – the kind that you might read once and then forget about. If you asked me about it in a week’s time, I wouldn’t be able to tell you what the characters were called. But if you’re looking for a book to read on the beach or while on holiday, it’ll do nicely.
Annabel Kantaria
