I'm not sure what I just read. I didn't like any of the characters and I didn't like the writer's style. The beginning of the book was good, the ending of the book was good (I didn't see the ending coming!) but the middle just dragged on. Somehow this book made me feel.. dirty. I'm giving it 4 stars because honestly, despite all I've mentioned above, it was a surprisingly good book. I think. ( )

Halloween in Manhattan. Everyone has their bad days, but for Nancy Kincaid, this will be the worst of her life. Arriving at her office, her colleagues insist they have never seen her before. The only clue she has is a voice that whispers someone will be murdered that night--by 8:00, the Animal Hour.

An opening that instantly draws you in by curiosity about the "what" and the "why" of the story and a breakneck pace kept me turning the pages. And while it's fun to be somewhat frustrated while reading a thriller - because that frustration stems from not knowing all the answers and having to discover and decipher clues and evidence - this one pushed me to my limit.

Then the big reveal in which we're given the answer to not only the main mystery but a secondary mystery we didn't even know was a mystery until its big reveal at the end. Plausible within the story itself but a bit convoluted for my tastes.

Plus, there was something that just rubbed me the wrong way about how the women were portrayed in this book.

Recommended only if you're instantly hooked by having to know what's going on and what really happened even if you couldn't care less about any of the characters.

2.5 stars ( )