Summary: A family reunion. A shocking secret. A night to die for…

On a snowy December night, the Bailey family are gathered at an isolated hotel in the English countryside. They’re reuniting for the first time since the accident that shattered their lives ten years ago.

It’s a time for love and forgiveness. But more than one guest has an ulterior motive:

The perfect daughter

The alcoholic

The single mother

The liar

The handsome husband

The adulterer

The beautiful sister

The jealous sibling

The murderer…

As the clock strikes midnight, one member of the party is found dead at the foot of the grand marble staircase.

Everyone is a suspect. But which one of them is a killer?-From Goodreads

What I Liked: The idea of this book was a good one, as were the basic character outlines.  A story about a tragedy that separated a family years ago, a reunion at Christmas, secrets revealed-these are all interesting ideas. I liked the idea of every character having a secret as well.  I also liked that there was more than one unreliable narrator.

What I Didn’t Like: The pacing was off for most of this book. Moments I felt should have been given more time to unfold were rushed, while there were various times that one moment was recapped by multiple characters, meaning I was told about that moment several times. The writing also has a “tell not show” feel to it. It’s almost as if Davids thinks her audience is stupid and needs to be hit over the head with things. The first third of the book hinted towards the “traumatic” event in the past that caused the family to separate but the reveal of this event was a let down and didn’t seem bad enough to lead to the rift between the family. 

Review Wrap Up: What could have been a quick, popcorn read was ruined by poor writing and grammatical errors. A good editor could have done wonders for this book and I hope Davids utilizes one in the future.