The Most Likely Club by Elyssa Friedland (2022)Four high school friends (Melissa, Priya, Tara, and Suki) receive high superlatives upon graduation, but 25 years later, three of the four haven't achieved the success they thought they would. After meeting up at their 25-year reunion, they form a pact to make their high school dreams come true (albeit maybe in different ways than they imagined). This one was a mixed bag for me - I like the idea of a friendship group that has stood the test of time, that these four women, despite having families and jobs that have taken them all over, are still close. I think taking stock of your life and deciding to make big changes or try a new adventure is also really relatable. However, I felt the pacing was off. I don't know if it was because I was listening on audio, but it felt like it took forever to get to the meat of the story where the friends decide to change their lives. I thought that was what the bulk of the book would be about, but it wasn't. Also, one of the friends, Suki, has built a massively successful company and doesn't attend the reunion (and thus isn't part of the pact, or really, even need to be in it). She felt like an enigma for most of the book and only becomes a bigger character later in the story. So overall, an interesting premise that unfortunately fell a bit short. 3.5 stars
In a family of high-achieving, successful lawyers, TJ Devil is the black sheep, an alcoholic who went to jail for a brief period of time and now works as an investigator at the family law firm. One night, his older brother John admits to TJ that he murdered a client. As TJ digs deeper into the case, he finds lies, deception, and danger at every turn. Can the Devlin family survive? I've been wanting to read more mysteries/thrillers, and this was an okay return for me. I liked the character of TJ - he's really trying to learn and grow and become a better man, wanting to overcome his past mistakes. It pained me when his family didn't believe in him. The short chapters kept the story moving, and there are a few twists that keep it interesting. However, the cringey dialogue really took me out of the story a few times. If you enjoy legal dramas with a dose of mystery and family dynamics, this might be the book for you. 3.5 stars
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The Truth About the Devlins is the one I'd be most interested in to read, I think. It's too bad that the dialogue was cringey but at least it had short chapters which is something I really like!
ReplyDeleteMe, too! Doesn't it make the book read so much faster?
DeleteI have enjoyed books from Friedland in the past. This was one on my radar. I am all about the female friendships and love the idea of this story. I have found that not all books work on audio for me though.
ReplyDeleteI think the narrator did a good job distinguishing between the 4 characters, although it would have been nice with more narrators.
DeleteAww, The Most Likely Club sounds so cute in theory. I also have a close friend group where there are 4 of us girls, and we definitely have achieved very different levels of "success" from each other. Sorry that the pacing was off and that it started slow! Great reviews!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Aimee! I do wonder if it would have been different in print - sometimes in audio, the story seems slower to me.
DeleteI really like the premise for The Most Likely Club, so I'm sorry to hear it fell a bit short.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I had high hopes!
DeleteI've never read anything by Scottoline but I know she has a huge backlist. That's too bad about the dialogue. It's like, didn't any early readers or editors pick up on that? lol
ReplyDeleteI think this was my first book by her. I'm always weirded out by bad dialogue, like exactly, who read this?
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