Fool Her Once by Joanna Elm is an exciting thriller about a reporter, Jenna, who scores the story of her life at the beginning of her career. She had intended to interview the girlfriend of a long-deceased serial killer in hopes of finding out what the woman had seen in him. Instead, she ends up digging up a whole new story when she finds out the woman had a son with the serial killer. As expected, as the story comes out and the truth about the past of the woman and her now adult son comes out, the lives of the story subjects are quickly ruined, sending their lives into chaos as Jenna goes back to her own life with only a bit of knowledge of the drama she caused. Twenty years later, Jenna has been married, has a family, and settled in a lovely New England home with her husband and daughter, where they run a comfortable little coastal inn. However, she has discovered that the drama she induced years ago will return quickly to haunt her.
Fool Her Once, as stated above, is an exciting thriller. This fast-paced story kept me interested with turns I did not see coming. Sure, I could guess a few ending aspects, but that did not detract from the thrills of discovering how it happened! This book has a non-linear story. The author naturally leads us through the drama of the modern-day personal conflict of the characters but also takes the time to bring us back to the moments of the past that were essential to the lead-up. This allows us a full view of the entire story. Seeing the issues of the past play out gives us a much clearer picture than we would get with simple explanations from characters. Speaking of characters, we are given well-rounded, deep-thinking individuals whose mental illnesses and paranoia are so realistic I found myself wondering who the real antagonist of this story was.
I also listened to the Fool Her Once audiobook, which was read by Rachel Fulginiti, whose fantastic voice acting brings life to each character. I suggest looking at the audiobook if you plan to enjoy Fool Her Once.
/related