"For, whether we're aware of it or not, we are always living in the aftermath of something." - Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin

This debut novel drew me in with its striking cover and intriguing first chapter. While on a tropical vacation, a family experiences an unthinkable tragedy - their 19-year-old daughter goes missing and is later found dead. The rest of the novel is told from the point of view of the family's younger daughter, age 6 at the time of her sister's death.

I read a wide array of books, from literary fiction to pulpy thrillers ... but I didn't enjoy this one. I couldn't relate to any of the characters, and I wasn't sure what this novel was trying to be: coming of age story? thriller? literary fiction? character study? I hoped the ending would clarify things, but the revelations near the conclusion just caused more confusion.

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The other reviewer has a point about this novel perhaps struggling to declare its purpose, BUT not too long into it, I started to think of it like a Tana French novel. French is marketed unmistakably in the mystery genre, but she NEVER gives a whodunit with a traditional payoff / twist. Often there is never a big reveal, but you have the compensations of assured, exquisite writing and character study. I think SAINT X is that, to a tee. A few doldrums in the middle, but the writing is very very good--smart, never perfunctory, not even one sentence. I say go for it, especially if you like French's "kindred" stories. The Amazon reviews for this book insist on waving a backlash against the hype, but I think this book deserves most of the advance praise.

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