The Book:
Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin
Published February 18th 2020 by Celadon Books
Date read: May 28, 2021
The Characters:
Sisters Claire and Alison
Clive
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister, Alison, disappears on the last night of their family vacation at a resort on the Caribbean island of Saint X. Several days later, Alison’s body is found in a remote spot on a nearby cay, and two local men – employees at the resort – are arrested. But the evidence is slim, the timeline against it, and the men are soon released. The story turns into national tabloid news, a lurid mystery that will go unsolved. For Claire and her parents, there is only the return home to broken lives.
Years later, Claire is living and working in New York City when a brief but fateful encounter brings her together with Clive Richardson, one of the men originally suspected of murdering her sister. It is a moment that sets Claire on an obsessive pursuit of the truth – not only to find out what happened the night of Alison’s death but also to answer the elusive question: Who exactly was her sister? At seven, Claire had been barely old enough to know her: a beautiful, changeable, provocative girl of eighteen at a turbulent moment of identity formation.
As Claire doggedly shadows Clive, hoping to gain his trust, waiting for the slip that will reveal the truth, an unlikely attachment develops between them, two people whose lives were forever marked by the same tragedy.
The Review:
After reading The Siren, I was itching for another beachy thriller. When Celadon Books sent Saint X my way for an LFL drop, I knew it would be the perfect thing! It ended up being even better than I expected, discussing important themes of white/class privilege as well as mental health. It’s an eye-opening look at the perspective of resort workers, locals who watch these rich, selfish foreigners come and go. Don’t go into it just expecting a fast-paced mystery/thriller, though.
This book was filled with beautiful imagery, and I could perfectly picture this island resort where Alison’s family was staying. The same goes for Claire walking through the streets of New York at night. This is definitely a slow burn story, but the imagery makes the journey worth it. If you’re in it just for the mystery, you may get bogged down in some of the lengthy descriptions.
There were also some lengthy character explorations that I found extremely interesting. Even people who barely knew Alison were affected by her death, and the story of her disappearance kind of reminded me of the Natalie Holloway tragedy.
QOTD: When you read books set in a tropical location like this, is there a particular place you picture in your head? For me it’s St. Martin and the resort I stayed in there as a kid.
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