Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Audiobook: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Spice: N/A

By Jimmy Juliano

Willow Stone finds the words “Clifford Island” written on her dead son’s bedroom floor. Consumed with grief, her marriage faltering, and desperately seeking answers, Willow embarks on a journey to Clifford, a small Wisconsin island of which little is known. Upon her arrival, she immediately knows something is off. The town is obsessed with 1994: the clothes, the tech, OJ Simpson. Determined to discover the town’s connection to her son, Willow immerses herself in Clifford. When Willow disappears, her brother Harper arrives to find her but instead unravels the terrifying truth behind the people of Clifford.

This is one of those psychological thrillers where you aren’t sure what, if anything, there is to be afraid of until all of the pieces come together at the end. Written with multiple points of view and short chapters that vary from traditional narrative to text exchanges, newspaper articles, or transcripts of recordings, this book unfolds in a non-linear, highly effective storytelling style. As you bounce between characters, timelines, and perspectives, you begin to piece together the story of Clifford and the motivations of the multitude of characters. Because rather than despite many characters and a unique book construction, the plot is easy to follow, and the characters are all well-developed. The ending felt just a tiny bit rushed but was still very satisfying. I know this is a book I will be thinking about and recommending for years to come.

I read this book in a combination of print and audiobook. The audiobook is a full-cast narration that is exceptionally well done.