If you like psychological thrillers and want to read Too Good to be True, then do what other reviewers have recommended: do NOT read the blurb first! It gives too much away. As the entire basis of many psychological suspense/thrillers depends on the “big twist”, then it’s best to start reading cold. Otherwise the story might not work as well for you.
Anyway. Consider yourself warned.
Too Good to be True by Carola Lovering
Genre: Psychological suspense/thriller
Publication: 2 March 2021, St. Martin’s Press
ONE LOVE STORY. TWO MARRIAGES. THREE VERSIONS OF THE TRUTH.
Too Good to Be True is an obsessive, addictive love story for fans of Lisa Jewell and The Wife Upstairs, from Carola Lovering, the beloved author of Tell Me Lies.
Skye Starling is overjoyed when her boyfriend, Burke Michaels, proposes after a whirlwind courtship. Though Skye seems to have the world at her fingertips—she’s smart, beautiful, and from a well-off family—she’s also battled crippling OCD ever since her mother’s death when she was eleven, and her romantic relationships have suffered as a result.
But now Burke—handsome, older, and more emotionally mature than any man she’s met before—says he wants her. Forever. Except, Burke isn’t who he claims to be. And interspersed letters to his therapist reveal the truth: he’s happily married, and using Skye for his own, deceptive ends.
In a third perspective, set thirty years earlier, a scrappy seventeen-year-old named Heather is determined to end things with Burke, a local bad boy, and make a better life for herself in New York City. But can her adolescent love stay firmly in her past—or will he find his way into her future?
On a collision course she doesn’t see coming, Skye throws herself into wedding planning, as Burke’s scheme grows ever more twisted. But of course, even the best laid plans can go astray. And just when you think you know where this story is going, you’ll discover that there’s more than one way to spin the truth.
My thoughts
As I’ve written before, psychological suspense/psychological thrillers are hit-or-miss for me. This book, unfortunately, was mostly a miss. The times when it was a “hit” were the times when it was less like a thriller and more like a women’s novel.
Points of View
The story is told from three points of view. Skye Starling, a single, beautiful, incredibly wealthy young woman with OCD. Burke Michaels, her “too good to be true” boyfriend who is handsome, caring, sensitive, and accepting of her compulsions–lying. In flashbacks, we get the point of view of Heather, a poor but ambitious teen raising her young brother after her parents succumb to addiction.
Characterization
For me, the characters felt over-the-top, as if the author took the most dramatic aspect of their personalities and exaggerated it. Skye’s insecurity and naivete. Burke’s manipulations and reformed-bad-boy charm. Heather’s ambitions and aspirations, plus her conviction that life has treated her badly.
Of all the characters, Heather irked me the most. On the one hand, she acts helpless, like when she whines that her husband hasn’t written their daughter’s college tuition check. (She can’t do this?!) Yet she’s clearly capable of elaborate schemes to get what she wants. That said, she has been dealt a raw hand in life and an early tragedy leaves its mark.
Burke: probably the less I say about him, the better. In his “too good to be true” version, he’s adorable–but is that the real Burke?
Skye. I actually liked her. It’s sad to see her compulsions regulate how she navigates the world. Yet at the same time, she has a supportive network of longtime friends. When all the world turns upside down, they are there for her.
Female Relationships
One of the best parts of the novel is watching these friends navigate the transitions in their relationships. They’ve been friends since childhood, but adulthood (along with lovers, husbands, careers) has changed them and their relationships to each other. It’s great to see them support Skye.
The other highlights for me were Skye’s relationship with her trusted therapist and the reality of living with crippling OCD. Her psychiatrist helps her process her emotions but also forces her to dig deep inside to find answers and grow from her experiences.
Skye lost her mom at a young age, and her death was the catalyst for Skye’s compulsions. The author did a good job conveying Skye’s compulsions, in my opinion.
Yet while I enjoyed these aspects of the book, these aren’t great sources of suspense. They do add depth to a fairly basic storyline, though.
Plot
The story’s suspense seems to come from flashbacks and dire hints about bad events in the past. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Skye’s repeated vague thoughts about Max LaPointe are an example. Several times, she hints that something bad happened with him, but doesn’t elaborate until 50 percent of the way through the book. This exasperated me, as the hints are too vague to even guess what the issue was. It’s a bit like a friend who starts hinting about some juicy gossip but won’t state any specifics because she wants you to beg for answers before she’ll spill the tea.
The eventual story about the devious Max is a doozy, and the continual delay in its telling could have worked. (It increased my sympathy for Skye.) But for me, it didn’t completely work because the hints were all the same level of revelation, and didn’t build upon one another.
Certain twists are obvious to anyone who reads a lot in this genre. The less said here, the better.
The Howdunit
The second half Too Good to be True often felt repetitious. If the first half of the book was the “who-done-it”, then the second half was the “how-done-it” part usually reserved for an epilogue or the killer’s confession in a murder mystery. Only in this case, the confession is several chapters long and interspersed with the other points of view from the present time. These confessional/explanatory chapters are mildly interesting. But since I already knew the outcome, I didn’t feel much suspense, only annoyance.
But oddly, I enjoyed the second half more than the first and couldn’t stop reading. Other than the explanatory chapters, I liked watching the other two characters deal with (and perhaps grow from) their troubles. It didn’t feel like a suspense novel at that point, though, more like women’s fiction. So don’t expect an exciting showdown, an adversarial courtroom battle, or anyone pointing a gun at anyone else. It doesn’t happen.
Somewhat Recommend
Overall, I somewhat recommend the book. If you like psychological suspense, you may enjoy Too Good To Be True or you may not. Some reviewers loved the book; check out all the five star reviews on Goodreads. As I’ve said, psychological thrillers are a hit-or-miss for me. While this one was mostly a miss for me, it might be a hit for you.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Like this? Read that!
Want more psychological suspense? Try Someone’s Listening by Seraphina Nova Glass or Strangers by C. L. Taylor.