This book is so poorly written from the prose to the plot to the (lack of) character development that I can't believe it was published in it's current state. The plot is largely based on addiction and complicated family dynamics which the author seems to have 0 experience with or even basic knowledge of. Every character makes such infuriatingly stupid decisions that aren't even necessary to further the plot, you're left annoyed and confused. The main character, Evie, is the least distinct in the book and I couldn't tell you anything about her other than she is "addicted to gambling" which we never see her struggle with. We don't even get to see her "poker skills" in action, though she occasionally says she has them. I'll save the spoilers for below but just know the entire last quarter of the book is centered on convoluted exposition from the villains as they explain every thought and motive they've ever had. It feels as if the author got a bunch of notes about things that didn't add up and then instead of editing the story she just gave the bad guys a line of dialogue to (unsuccessfully) explain something away. I gave it one star instead of zero because I did choose to finish it... so one star for confusing me enough that I had to see it through.

SPOILERS AHEAD:



-Evie is told not to tell anyone she is going to this "exclusive" rehab, so her cover story to her family is that she's leaving her husband and then she implies to her best friend that her husband is abusing her?? So she can disappear for 6 days and then come back like nothing happened???
-Almost every woman in this book says something misogynistic at some point and Evie's best friend is even happy to hear that Evie's husband lost his job just because she doesn't like him?
-I don't know what the author thinks an addiction is but Evie only gambles for money her family needs and we don't see her make any reckless decisions regarding gambling. We never see any sort of addiction have an effect on any character in this book even though it's literally about people struggling with addiction.
-No one catches on that the rehab may be a sham when they start handing out alcohol?
-The characters are brought to a mysterious island by a group of people calling themselves "mentors" and then they find a bunch of murdered bodies in the basement of the place they're staying... but none of them consider that the mentors are responsible??? The book treats it like a reveal that the mentors who imprisoned them are actually bad guys.
-This is petty but at one point a character says a family is "dirt poor" so their car probably isn't even worth more than "10k" ?????
-Throughout the book the characters are told they can't go to the police or government because the main antagonists (a secret society of serial killers) has members in high up places... but then they're brought down by the coast guard?? So I guess there are serial killers in every organized group of authority except the coast guard.