ARC NetGalley: The Necklace by Matt Witten

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis: 

The clock ticks down in a heart-pounding crusade for justice

Susan Lentigo’s daughter was murdered twenty years ago—and now, at long last, this small-town waitress sets out on a road trip all the way from Upstate New York to North Dakota to witness the killer’s execution.

On her journey she discovers shocking new evidence that leads her to suspect the condemned man is innocent—and the real killer is still free. Even worse, her prime suspect has a young daughter who’s at terrible risk. With no money and no time to spare, Susan sets out to uncover the truth before an innocent man gets executed and another little girl is killed.

But the FBI refuses to reopen the case. They—and Susan’s own mother—believe she’s just having an emotional breakdown. Reaching deep, Susan finds an inner strength she never knew she had. With the help of two unlikely allies—a cynical, defiant teenage girl and the retired cop who made the original arrest—Susan battles the FBI to put the real killer behind bars. Will she win justice for the condemned man—and her daughter—at last?

I'm a bit conflicted about The Necklace.

The premise of the book is original and it's very easy to get affected by the tragedy Susan lived.

The story is told by a Now & Then point of view which offer the reader an insight in the weeks and months that followed Amy's murder.

However there's some flashbacks that are told in present tense during the now perspective and it's sounded a bit strange to me. Also it felt all of sudden quite impersonal and detached, at odds with the rest of it.

The ending, while expected, in my opinion was a bit anticlimactic.

There's no real explanation of HIS motives (except the obvious); all we get are the strange feelings Susan had, feelings she wasn't sure she believed herself.

Also, was Amy HIS first and only crime? 'Cause it was implied otherwise but we don't get any follow-up info about it.

I admit this annoyed me quite a bit and it's mostly why I didn't rate this book as a full 4 stars.

At last, I'd like to thank the author for the chance to read his book through NetGalley and I hope he appreciates my honest review.