The man I had built up layer by layer upon the canvas was in pain. But that pain was not the only new element present. There was malice there, too, and deception, and vengefulness; but all showing in their slightest aspects. Like minor chords, or the faintest ripples from a pond-dropped stone.
The Sanctuary
by Andre Hunter Murray
Genre: Thriller
About: All Ben wants is to marry Cara, but when she gets a job for one of the wealthiest men in the world, it requires her to leave for his private island. Once there, she decides not to come back. Something happened to her on that island. Something changed her. And Ben is determined to find out what - no matter what it might cost him.
Thoughts
This was a strange one for me. There were a lot of elements that I really enjoyed. Such as Ben as a character. He felt real and fleshed out; his love for Cara as well as the issues in their relationships, his schooling years, the views he had on wealth, and the passion he had for art, all of these aspects of his character were well written and made him an interesting character to follow. John was likewise a compelling character and the mystery of his true end goal did have me turning the pages. There was an atmosphere here and a uniqueness to the story that I found really engaging.
However it didn't quite hit the mark on a few points. Although I liked the writing of the characters, I didn't like the writing for the setting, or for it being a thriller. It felt like one long, endless tour of the island. We got so many repetitive descriptions of what the place looked like and every discovery was written in a way that made me feel like a distant observer rather than part of the action. There just wasn't much excitement for me. Scenes were recycled. Ben explores the island, Ben goes to dinner, Ben talks to Bianca, Ben talks to John... it was a series of doing the same action with little to no variation.
I also didn't understand why Ben would trust John in one moment, and distrust him in the next. Bianca's mixed feelings made more sense as the daughter seeking approval but also seeking the truth, but Ben flip flops so often after such a short amount of time of knowing John. The idea of the cult persona didn't justify this change around enough for me and kept feeling jarring.
The ending was pretty mixed for me too. You're left with a rather poetic image at the end that felt like the close of an epic and I really enjoyed that aspect of it, but it didn't address a lot of the questions I still had.
Overall, this didn't read much like a thriller as it was a bit too slow paced. The characters and mystery were interesting, but I was left feeling like part of the climax was missing and not enough of the reveals had been given.
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