“An international thriller, The Expats is the story of a seemingly ordinary working mom, Kate Moore, whose husband, Dexter, is offered a lucrative job in Luxembourg—a move that will unravel everything they believed about each other. Kate and Dexter have struggled to make ends meet, so they jump at the chance to start a new life abroad with the promise of rich rewards. But Kate has been leading a double life, and leaving America forces her to abandon her dangerous but heroic job.
She soon discovers that it will be harder than she thought to shed her past, especially while coping with the weight of an unbearable secret. Dexter seems to be keeping secrets of his own, working long hours for a banking client whose name he can’t reveal. When another American couple befriends them, Kate begins to peel back the layers of deception that surround her, revealing a heart-stopping con that threatens her family, her marriage, and her life.”
This New York Times Bestseller was one I was very excited to receive and review. I love a good mystery and I really enjoy this genre of book as well. However, with The Expats by Chris Pavone I found a difficult entry point of interest. The story was fractured with differing timeline & locale narratives interwoven throughout. It’s hard to be engulfed into a story when the perspective is always changing. I appreciate a good back story within in a story but not a constant shift in the flow of the book.
In conclusion, The Expats was “ok” though I can’t recommend it as a great read. I’ve read better books that carried the reader through the mystery with much more ease & transitions but this book also wasn’t a disaster. I appreciated the detail of description for the city of Luxembourg & Europe. I now want to visit it!
Disclosure: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Hi Holly,
Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog today. I can see that I want to put your blog on the list of those I visit often. Today I just finished the book that I’ve been reading, so I’ve been on a search for what to read next. It’s going to be The Expats. I just went to my library site and had it sent to my Kindle. I’m glad that I found the Grace & Truth Linkup!
Rosemary
I got 1/4 of the way through the book and decided that I didn’t want to keep going. Why? I didn’t care about the main character. Keeping up with where she was became a bit of a challenge, but figuring out who she was turned out to be an even bigger challenge.
Holly, I don’t know if you are looking for a new book to read after this one but I highly recommend Love Idol by Jennifer Dukes Lee. I could even get my copy to Ashley W. if you wanted to borrow it.
That is so sweet, Jill! I think I’ve seen this at the library but haven’t picked it up yet, I will do so thanks to your suggestion!
If you end up reading it, I would love to hear what you think. I love to read so I am going to lurk around your blog for some other suggestions. Have a good one!
Thanks Jill, I will when I do read it. I also am a big lover of books! I always have a large pile on my nightstand so you’ll have more to peruse as I do reviews for many of them!