Law student Saraswati “Sara” Bhaduri holds down two jobs in order to make her way through school, but it’s still a struggle. She’s had to do things to pay the bills that most people wouldn’t expect from “a nice Indian girl.” It seems like an ordinary busy Tuesday night at the local dive bar until her boss demands Sara deal with a drunk girl in the bathroom.
The two become fast friends. Why? Because they both have the same name. And despite their different circumstances, the two connect. When they both order rideshares home, they tumble in the back of the cars and head out into the night.
But when Sara awakes in her rideshare, she finds she's on the wrong side of town—the rich side—and she realizes: she and Sarah took the wrong cars home.
With no money, Sara walks back to her apartment on the shady side of town only to discover police lights flashing and a body crumpled on her doorstep: Sarah.
Was Sarah Ellis or Sara Bhaduri the target? And why would anyone want either of them dead?
In this smart, twisty novel about ambition, wealth, and dangerous longing, the layers are peeled back on two young women desperate to break out of the expectations placed on them, with devastating results. (Goodreads synopsis)
I have not read a novel by S.C. Lalli before this one.
I did not like the protagonist Sara. She is a liar, and I think she was supposed to be intelligent (she’s in law school) but I just found her whiny and making terrible decisions. She doesn’t think through any of her choices, and gets scared/upset when the consequences are worse.
I didn’t mind the victim Sarah. She reminded me of every girl in high school, who didn’t think of anyone but herself. And I think that was the point of her character. I’m not surprised by the things the police find out about her.
The mystery was lost to the subplot of Sara and Jason. It was a distraction, and made the novel hard to continue. I wish the author had stuck with Sarah Ellis’s murder and the mistaken identity angle, and didn’t add the angsty, cringey Sara Bhaduri angle.
That said, I did like the dual time-lines. Reading from both characters POV, and how they reacted to their decisions made the separation and connection more understandable.
Overall I rate this novel 2 out of 5 stars.
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