The Girl on the Beach: A Thriller

I wanted to enjoy this book so much because the story sounded so intriguing. A little girl disappears on the beach. The parents are in the house. It’s the babysitter, Colleen’s, day off, although she is in the casita nearby. The story is told from “before” and “after” perspectives, which is a bit confusing because the author doesn’t tell you exactly who narrates the chapters. The story also slows down so much in the middle. I had to put the book down several times because I was bored. Nothing was happening. The babysitter spoke about her roommates and about having sex with the little girl’s father. There were discussions about the mother, Sonia, who didn’t seem to even want to be a mother. There were so many unnecessary scenes that didn’t add anything to the main storyline—what happened to Roxie? I thought this book was going to get a lot more exciting, especially after Colleen thinks she sees Roxie one day. The ending has a twist, but it’s not even worth what the reader has to go through to get to it. This one was a snooze for me.