Review: The Poison Tree

The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I wanted to give it 3.5 stars, but since I flew through the second half, rounding up seems appropriate. It's essentially a mystery where pieces are revealed as the book goes on. There are some twists - some more obvious than others - and they were enough to keep me going.

There are three main characters: Karen and siblings Rex and Biba. The siblings used to be wealthy, and they are bizarrely close (what's up with entertainment always portraying rich siblings as *too* close?). Their childhood was traumatic, of course (there were some cliches going on here).

I could see why Karen was so enamored, particularly, of Biba who was spontaneous and crazy and fun. I wanted to party with Biba too, although I wouldn't trust her with anything. Karen spent university being a stick-in-the-mud and acting like an adult (she lived in a house with three other girls, and they had a schedule for who cooked dinner each night? that's not college). Karen spent the summer after graduating (with honors, of course) with Rex and Biba and their wild lifestyle. Some drugs and sex and language, but nothing is overly explicit.

The book goes back and forth between the past and the present, and it was super-easy to follow even when the time changed during chapters. In the present, Rex is just released from prison for some mystery offense, and you also find out that Karen has her own secrets. This would be a fantastic plane read.

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