Playing on our universal fascination with reality TV, Emily C. Whitson’s Beneath the Marigolds is The Bachelor(ette) gone terribly wrong.
When her best friend, Reese Marigold, goes missing after attending Last Chance, an exclusive singles' retreat on a remote island off the coast of Hawaii, no-nonsense lawyer Ann Stone infiltrates the retreat.
Ann quickly realizes there's more to Last Chance than meets the eye. The extravagant clothes, never-ending interviews, and bizarre dates hint that the retreat is a front for a reality dating show. Could Reese be safe, keeping a low profile until the premier, or did something sinister occur after all?
Torn between the need to uncover the truth and her desperate desire to get off the island, Ann partakes in the unusual routines of the "journey to true love" and investigates the other attendees who all have something to hide. In a final attempt to find Reese on the compound, she realizes that she herself may never get off the island alive.
My Thoughts!
As a non-fan of Bachelor/ette-style shows, I was impressed with how captivating this book was to read! I never liked the idea of finding "love" while making out with a large assortment of people. The book floats back and forth between two characters - Reese and Ann - who are quite different, yet they are linked and become like family after suffering with alcoholism and meeting via AA. Their characters are written with such depth, that you can feel everything each woman goes through on this journey.
While you get a bit of the reality show aspect, Ann's POV dives into some amateur sleuthing to find out what happened while her friend was on the island, just five weeks before her. Once you reach the conclusion of the book, everything becomes understandable for why the police took very little action on investigating Reese's disappearance. And it's extremely twisted how it all came together!
I am an avid reader of thrillers and love putting the pieces together throughout the book. It's become a challenge to try and see if I can figure it out before the tell-all moment. There are a few twists that Emily snuck in and I loved it! Absolutely a fantastic debut novel.
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Praise for Beneath the Marigolds:
"Cleverly plotted...Whitson's debut novel is an intriguing new entry in the women's suspense genre, driven by dual first-person narrators and tension-filled parallel timelines."— Carmen Amato, Silver Falchion Award Finalist and author of The Detective Emilia Cruz Mystery Series
"Exhilarating twists and turns...a fast-paced psychological thriller that mashes up the reality series The Bachelor with Gone Girl." — Helen Power, author of The Ghosts of Thorwald Place
"A fun, propulsive read...this book cleverly combines the archetypes of "reality TV" and the "trapped-on-a-remote-island" mystery that will perpetually keep you guessing." — Marcy McCreary, author of The Disappearance of Trudy Solomon
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About the Author:
Emily Whitson received a B.A. in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She worked as a marketing copywriter for six years before pursuing a career in fiction and education. She is currently getting her M.Ed. at Vanderbilt University, where she writes between classes. She is particularly passionate about women’s education and female stories. This interest stems from her time at Harpeth Hall, an all-girls college preparatory school in Nashville, Tennessee. When she isn’t volunteering, writing, or in the classroom, Emily can usually be found with her dog, Hoss, in one of Nashville’s various parks. Beneath the Marigolds is her debut novel.
Catch Up With Emily C. Whitson:
EmilyCWhitson.com Goodreads BookBub - @emilycwhitson_author Instagram - @emilycwhitson Facebook - @emilycwhitson
Giveaway:
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Emily C. Whitson & CatCam Books. There will be 1 winner of one (1) print edition of Beneath the Marigolds by Emily C. Whitson (US, Canada, and UK Only). The giveaway runs October 1 through November 2, 2021. Void where prohibited.