Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin

ARC provided by Celadon in exchange for an honest review.

Book Blurb:

Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister, Alison, disappears on the last night of their family vacation at a resort on the Caribbean island of Saint X. Several days later, Alison’s body is found in a remote spot on a nearby cay, and two local men – employees at the resort – are arrested. But the evidence is slim, the timeline against it, and the men are soon released. The story turns into national tabloid news, a lurid mystery that will go unsolved. For Claire and her parents, there is only the return home to broken lives. Years later, Claire is living and working in New York City when a brief but fateful encounter brings her together with Clive Richardson, one of the men originally suspected of murdering her sister. It is a moment that sets Claire on an obsessive pursuit of the truth – not only to find out what happened the night of Alison’s death but also to answer the elusive question: Who exactly was her sister? At seven, Claire had been barely old enough to know her: a beautiful, changeable, provocative girl of eighteen at a turbulent moment of identity formation.

My Review: 3.5 stars – Guest Review

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Saint X took me by surprise in the best possible way. At surface level, and based on the synopsis, I was expecting this to be your typical murder mystery with the protagonist being on a journey to discover the truth and find closure. Maybe some romance along the way. But Schaitkin turned her novel into so much more. Although it was about Allison Thomas’ murder, that wasn’t the main focus. It was the aftermath and figuring out not only who Allison was, but who she was to Claire. While it held the touchstones of a thriller, it explored self-discovery, grief, family and privilege. Something I wasn’t expecting was the close inspection on how closely privilege and race run. Although it wasn’t a central “plot” to the story, the author managed to thread this theme throughout the novel, even if it was just through a character’s memory or thought-process.

The first and last quarter of the book flew by, while the middle had more of a slow burn. The author switches perspectives of the narrator in between chapters, which helps propel the reader further into the story, and adds some necessary angst. Claire, the protagonist, a hard character to love as I didn’t really understand her. It almost seemed as if Schaitkin didn’t want Claire, herself, to truly know who she was; so perhaps it was intentional.

Overall, this was a captivating story with good writing. I found myself earmarking pages left & right from lines that I stood out to me as memorable or relatable. My family has taken many vacations to tropical islands, so it really put my “that won’t happen to us” mentality in check. Review by Guest Fairy Carly. 

Quotes I liked:

Here’s the thing about women: If the world was only women, there wouldn’t be language at all. They don’t need it.”

“She may be a bit sharper than most, she may be quicker with her tongue, but in the end she wants they all want; to take home the story of how she fucked the man who brought the towels on the beach.”

“How could I ever be enough? How could I possibly compare to someone who never had to grow up?

“Did you ever wish something terrible would happen to you so the world could see how strong you are?”