Review: Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams

     

Print Length: 320 pages

Publisher:  William Marrow (June 15, 2021)

From Goodreads.com:  Three months ago, Lena Nguyen’s estranged twin sister, Cambry, drove to a remote bridge sixty miles outside of Missoula, Montana, and jumped two hundred feet to her death. At least, that is the official police version.

But Lena isn’t buying it.

Now she’s come to that very bridge, driving her dead twin’s car and armed with a cassette recorder, determined to find out what really happened by interviewing the highway patrolman who allegedly discovered her sister’s body.

Corporal Raymond Raycevic has agreed to meet Lena at the scene. He is sympathetic, forthright, and professional. But his story doesn’t seem to add up. For one thing, he stopped Cambry for speeding a full hour before she supposedly leapt to her death. Then there are the sixteen attempted 911 calls from her cell phone, made in what was unfortunately a dead zone.

But perhaps most troubling of all, the state trooper is referred to by name in Cambry’s final enigmatic text to her sister: Please Forgive Me. I couldn’t live with it. Hopefully you can, Officer Raycevic.

Lena will do anything to uncover the truth. But as her twin’s final hours come into focus, Lena’s search turns into a harrowing, tooth-and-nail fight for her own survival—one that will test everything she thought she knew about her sister and herself...

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My Rating: 1 star out of 5

Hairpin Bridge had the potential to be something amazing. Grieving sister, corrupt police officer, a serial killer going undetected for years, and a suicide that left too many unanswered questions. I was immediately intrigued by the books synopsis as well as the first couple of chapters. But then? It all went down hill, and fast. 

To begin, this book is broken up into different narratives. You have the present day where Lena is discussing her sister's suicide with the officer that found her body. Then you have what I thought was Cambry's story being told from her perspective, but in retrospect I believe it was in fact the book Lena was writing about how she perceived events to have gone down on the night of her death. There are also places where it is written from the point of view of Officer Raycevic himself. And finally, we have a third narrative which is that of a blog post that Lena is writing about her plans to meet with Officer Raycevic and the outcome she expects. 

Are you confused yet? Because there were times when I found it hard to keep track of. Not only that, but the sudden switch between the different perspectives happened without warning, which really snapped me out of the story. 

However, that wasn't the only reason that I was forced to give this book such a low rating. 

This book was just so beyond unrealistic that it was laughable. The motives of the characters seemed to be an after-thought, meaning I didn't believe any of their so-called motivations for the things they do/had done throughout the novel. Perhaps this was due to the fact that everything was just so over the top done, between the car chases, the gunfights (where people who should be dead aren't), and even a large snake of all things (which seems to serve no real purpose to the story), instead of being drawn in and captivated by what was happening, I just wanted it to be over. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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                                   Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams is available from Amazon.com