This is my second read from David Bell, and having read Kill All Your Darlings, I had high expectations. However, the Layover does not possess the tense atmosphere and fascinating characters of Kill All Your Darlings.

The main character, Joshua Fields, works with his father in real estate development. He is restless and discontented with his life, bored with his on/off girlfriend, and longing for a change. He encounters Morgan Reynolds in an airport lounge, has a drink with her, and after she suddenly kisses him and disappears, he embarks on a chase to find her and figure out the mystery surrounding her.

The major issue for me was that the characters of Joshua and Morgan were not very well fleshed-out, leaving me rather indifferent to their fates. In particular, Joshua is very nondescript and uninteresting, making me wonder why Morgan was attracted to him at all. The pace drags, and details about Morgan's story are very slow to be revealed, with the result that I struggled to stay interested and didn't feel invested in their story. There is little insight given into Morgan's actions which makes it difficult to feel empathy for her; and she repeatedly treats Joshua so badly that I got irritated and couldn't understand why he kept pursuing her.

Ultimately, the plot of this novel was lacking, as was the character development, resulting in a disappointing read.