By: Kit Frick
Narrator: Kelsey Navarro Foster
Simon & Schuster Audio
ISBN: 9781668022474
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication Date: 02/13/2024
Format: Other
My Rating: 4 Stars (ARC)
From critically acclaimed author Kit Frick, this electrifying suspense novel explodes convention to deliver two interlocking thrillers in one, following a pair of sisters into a family’s dark past and illuminating how a single choice can drastically alter the trajectory of our lives.
Jane Connor is resigned to being the “plain Jane” of her family—pragmatic and dependable—so unlike her beautiful and impetuous younger sister Esme. When Esme calls Jane during a flash summer storm, announcing she’s left her high society husband, Jane is shocked to learn that her sister wishes to stay with her. Could this be an opportunity for them to become close again? The only catch: Esme needs a ride from the city to their small Connecticut hometown, and Jane is terrified of getting on the highway…because of what she did when they were teens.
Jane must either let Esme stand on her own two feet for once or jump to her flighty younger sister’s rescue—and her choice cleaves her life in two.
In one reality, Jane can’t overcome her fear and tells Esme to crash with a friend. Twenty-four hours later, her sister is missing. Tortured by regret, Jane dedicates herself to piecing together Esme’s life before her disappearance, unraveling a web of lies, broken relationships, and, finally, the truth.
In the other reality, Jane swallows her fear and offers her less-than-grateful sister a ride. But while Jane hopes living together in their childhood home will be healing, Esme is aloof and increasingly reckless. The tension between the sisters builds until they are finally forced to reckon with the explosive secret from their past that could destroy their fragile bond—and both their lives.
With a rollicking pace and shocking twists and turns, The Split captivatingly explores how little we know the ones we love—and how one small choice can change everything.
My Review
Kit Frick's adult THE SPLIT offers double the pleasure with her cleverly crafted taut domestic thriller with two timelines and twin narratives.
Jane and Esme Connor are sisters but have not been close since they were teens after Esme was injured in a car crash while Jane was driving.
However, what happened that night? Jane has spent 15 years to make up for the accident to protect her family.
They are now in their twenties. Jane works at a financial firm, and Esme married into a wealthy, prominent family.
The sisters have moved their mother, Marjorie, into a memory care facility (due to Alzheimer's). Jane is taking care of her, living in the family home in Connecticut. The mother is divorced from her husband, Carl—the girl's father.
Esme is an aspiring writer living in Manhattan. One night, Jane receives a call from her sister stating she has left her husband and wants her to pick her up at a Midtown bar.
It is here THE SPLIT is divided into two timelines, with Jane narrating:
1~Jane is driving through a storm and brings her sister home
2~Jane is tired of being used by Esme and tells her NO.
In one timeline, Esme disappears with Jane in search of her sister.
The alternative timeline has different complications and outcomes.
Of course, Jane is terrified of driving in a storm after what happened years ago. But then maybe they could be close again and rescue her. OR should she allow her to stand on her own feet? Which choice?
Jane is dealing with a recent breakup with Jamie, a doctor, and reuniting with her teenage love, Dylan. The choice itself splits Jane’s life into two—the reality in which she rescued her sister and the alternative that left Esme alone in the city.
Who is cruel and manipulative? Who wants to protect? Do you truly know those closest to you?
The author skillfully facilitates the two storylines and keeps the reader in suspense, turning the pages—Character-driven with mystery and intrigue to the explosive reveal.
THE SPLIT is inventive, captivating, and absorbing with the two complex choices. From dysfunction, twisted family history, revenge, a memoir, journals, sisters, secrets, and memories to how one choice can change the trajectory of your life. I enjoyed the mother's character with her memories and writing.
Readers will enjoy this thrill ride, and the only thing that may bother some is the repetition of the two timelines and the need to duplicate sentences. I look forward to reading more from this YA turned Adult author.
Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a gifted advance review cop. #CoverCrush
@JudithDCollins #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Dat: Feb 13, 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars
Praise
"An edge-of-your-seat suspense tale about sisters and secrets. . . . Frick leaves readers breathless."
— Booklist
"In a taut thriller with two timelines, both are packed with clever twists. . . . Frick skillfully builds details into one plot that morph into something shockingly different in the other. The prose is streamlined, the pace headlong, and the surprises satisfying on both sides of reality." — Kirkus Reviews
"Double the suspense! THE SPLIT is both funhouse mirror and storytelling feat, with twin narratives that race each other to a satisfying — and shocking — conclusion."
-- Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of THE ONLY ONE LEFT
"In this clever domestic thriller by Kit Frick, one split decision takes two twisty paths in a crafty sliding doors plot. The characters leap from the pages and the family dysfunction feels both complex and grounded. A highly relatable and page-turning read!"
-- Wendy Walker, bestselling author of WHAT REMAINS
"Utterly absorbing and compulsively readable, THE SPLIT is a clever Sliding Doors-style thriller that brilliantly examines how a single decision can derail an entire life. At once an intriguing puzzle threaded with secrets and lies, and a compelling family drama exploring the complicated bonds of sisterhood, THE SPLIT is a novel you won't be able to put down -- or forget."
-- Kathleen Barber, author of Truth Be Told (adapted as an Apple TV+ series) and Follow Me
"A masterfully crafted, inventive thriller that surprises at every turn. THE SPLIT is unlike anything I've ever read before."
-- Kara Thomas, author of OUT OF THE ASHES and THAT WEEKEND
About the Author
PHOTO: © CARLY GAEBE / STEADFAST STUDIO
Kit Frick is a MacDowell fellow and ITW Thriller Award finalist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA from Syracuse University. She is the author of multiple thrillers including, for young adults, Before We Were Sorry (originally published as See All the Stars), All Eyes on Us, I Killed Zoe Spanos, Very Bad People, and The Reunion, and for adults, The Split. She is also the author of the poetry collection A Small Rising Up in the Lungs. Kit loves a good mystery but has only ever killed her characters. Honest.
Visit Kit online at KitFrick.com and on Twitter and Instagram @KitFrick.
