I honestly don't know where to start... I guess this story meant to have feminist themes, but the characters were so shallow and caricatural that it actually felt anti-feminist.
Actually, the whole story reads like an anti-feminist's idea of a dystopian liberal women's community.
It's baffling that the premise relies on a community of women who want to live away from men, yet they are still so heavily dependent on a male writer for their economic well-being.
There are digital jobs, you know? A lot of women sell things on Etsy or find creative ways to make a living.
We see real-world examples of resilient women (even those who never had the chance to go to school) supporting themselves and their communities independently every day. Yet, this book insists on keeping everything male-oriented. There were no inspiring stories here, just women needing a male writer to make money so they could live like Smurfs.
ALSO, THEY COULD HAVE JUST FOUND A FEMALE WRITER WHO WANTED TO LIVE ON AN ISLAND!
Also, sorry, but what was that murder plan? Grady lying on the road dressed as a woman? Really? Is this dude a cartoon bandit? And why the cross-dressing? This is the second Alice Feeney book I've read where the villain is a man dressed as a woman.
Furthermore, how did his wife not hear him talking on the ground, see the phone, or hear the car approaching through the call? It feels like the author tried too hard to create a twist, to the point where it stopped making any sense.
Anyway, to be fair, this book was actually interesting and I couldn't stop reading for a while but the ending was just so disappointing that it immediately lost 3 stars from me.