Content Warnings: Intimate partner violence, homophobia, transphobia

Cogley’s novel has an excellent plot, and if the story had fully focused on Eli, the first-person narrator, I think it would have been stronger. Eli is an interesting individual, partially due to his memory loss related both to a murder for which he was convicted and partially due to the way his case was handled and the re-investigation of it that follows. Without getting too much into spoilers, I think Eli’s uncovered past was excellently written. The “twist” was also good – not as effective as it could have been, but a solid twist in itself.

However, the book deviates too far away from this plot. There’s no real tension or mystery until maybe a quarter or a third into the novel. Instead, it's weighed down with side characters and plots (friends of Eli in prison, full letters between Eli and his parents, a criminal psychology course). While these DO establish some important aspects for the book, they could have been shortened and honed just on their relation to the main plot. I think with better pacing or better editing, this book would have been stronger. However, it was still an okay read if you like this type of story.