I have wanted to read this book way before a movie was even whispered. I finally got to the book. And, while there were parts that I enjoyed, overall, I was somewhat letdown.
First, the parts I did like: I loved the point of view of the murdered daughter narrating the story from her own part of heaven. I loved the descriptions of what "heaven" looked like for her. I loved the notion that she could observe and watch all that goes on here on earth. I loved the father and I adored Grandma Lynn.
However.
I didn't like a lot of the secondary characters. I realize the importance of Ruth's role but she was all over the place. Ray's mother drove me crazy with her come-fuck-me-quiet-mysterious demeanor and equally mysterious language. I really disliked the author's way she chose to move the story along. Her writing was choppy and at times confusing. I found myself wondering where the hell she was going more than I care to in a book. There were SO MANY times that I felt the "backstory" was not necessary to move the plot along and instead existed just to fill pages. I LOVE descriptive prose in books but in this case the sentences were pieced together by duct tape and a glue stick.
The mother was an awful character who didn't want to be a mother and just picked up and left for the west coast after having an emotionless affair with the detective assigned to the case. And all that traveling through the depths of the shopping mall...really? Why? Even before she ditched her family (oh, but look how she suffers: she looks at her children's pictures each and every day. Give me a break!) I did not like this woman.
Lindsey was all over the place too. One minute she is melting down, the next she is allowing Ruth to climb into her bed at Smart Camp, and then she ends up all better at college with her boyfriend and it is all tied up nicely with a pretty bow.
Poor Buck. How utterly screwed up is this kid with his sister dying and then mother leaving? I almost despised the mother more than I did Mr. Harvey.
I was glad to see Mr. Harvey die in the end but it was rather in a lackluster manner. Perhaps that is better...he dies from a fallen (with a little help from above) icicle and is buried in the snow for weeks. Okay. Sure. I wanted more there. I wanted her body found and I was hopeful when the town began to deal with the huge pit. I wanted him caught. I wanted the cops to go into his house and run tests on the blood on the floor of the garage. I wanted her body found in the safe. I appreciate her wanting to experience true love with Ray but I wanted her to go to her poor father's bedside in the hospital and give them clues about who killed her and how.
The culmination of all the pieces left me rather cold. Aside from an interesting premise and some interesting characters (Susie, the father, and Grandma Lynn) I was actually unsatisfied by the way the book wrapped up. I gave it three stars but it really only deserves about a two and a half.
