"Saint X"

"Saint X"
Written by Alexis Schaitkin
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia


Unfortunately so, "Saint X" was a crash and burn read. After promising an intense and interesting mystery, with a hint of thriller, the book's true pay off was highly disappointing.

"Saint X" is told through many perspectives, mostly unnecessary, about a teenage girl named Allison who died on vacation on a quiet, unpopular island. Her sister, Claire, explains the story, telling it in many time periods: before, currently, and after. Now, if we purely just stopped there, I would have thoroughly enjoyed the story, because Claire's voice and character are so honest and heartbreaking to read from. Instead, we receive information through the eyes of multiple unneeded perspectives: including the possible murderers, the police officer, the actress who found Allison's body, the actress who played Allison in a true crime television show, Allison's high school teacher, friends of the possible murderers, ex-boyfriends, and more. These perspectives are told in first person, second person, and through diary entries, newspaper articles, press statements, and an autopsy report.

There are some elements to the story that I just could not abide by. In an "American Beauty"-like style, the book allows many shock value sex scenes and information, that are just not pleasant.

Additionally, the story of Claire, now Emily, sounds appealing from the premise. The book's blurb pronounces this book as thought-provoking, fresh, endearing, and important. However, the book hardly allows us to know anything about current day Claire. We're told early on that she is supposed to develop a friendship, with one of the murder suspects. This story line occurs over maybe twenty pages.

One of the biggest upsets in this book was the reveal. The climax involves the author choosing to use homosexuality as a reason for murder, which is not a new eye-rolling concept in thrillers. Lastly, we are "treated" to one of the most ambiguous and open-ended conclusion in any thriller that I have read in a while.

I cannot recommend this book in any way. There are so many other wonderful books that this publishing house has published in 2019. I highly recommend "The Whisper Man" by Alex North or "A Nearly Normal Family" by M.T. Edvardsson instead.

I received a complimentary advance proof of this book in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes.