Synopsis:

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost, Da’s death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself may crumble and fall.

Thoughts so far:

Whether this series will end up forever unfinished or not, I’m hopelessly invested. I am so compelled by Mac. I want to watch her on her journey. I am saddened by her journey through grief. Though there are a few things that I find confusing, I am hoping that we get some answers. But I just love it.

Synopsis:

Katy Sweeney is looking for her sister. A year earlier, just three weeks into a solo vanlife trip, her free-spirited younger sister, Phoebe, vanished without a trace on the remote, achingly beautiful coastal highway in Western Australia. With no witnesses, no leads, and no DNA evidence, the case has gone cold. But Katy refuses to give up on her.

Using Phoebe’s social media accounts as a map, Katy retraces her sister’s steps, searching for any clues the police may have missed. Was Phoebe being followed? Who had she met along the way, and how dangerous were they?

And then Katy’s path collides with that of Beth, who is on the run from her own dark past. Katy realizes that Beth might be her best—and only—chance of finding the truth, and the two women form an uneasy alliance to find out what really happened to Phoebe in this wild, beautiful, and perilous place.

Thoughts so far:

I keep reading reviews that this book is a “slow burn”. But it’s only 12 hours of audio (369 pages in print). How much of a slow burn could it be? When I got about halfway through I determined that slow burn might mean that nothing actually happens. That’s how I’m feeling right now. There are too many characters. Too many POVs. I have no idea what’s going on. For context, this book is 369 pages and has 102 chapters. We change POV approximately every 3 pages. I have no idea who these people are, and none of their stories seem particularly relevant. It also doesn’t help that at least one character goes by 3 different names. I am also getting worried that all of these characters might have been lying to me so far. I don’t mind an unreliable narrator. But when ALL of them are unreliable it makes me feel like I’ve wasted my time. Hopefully it doesn’t go that way.