Title: You’ll Thank Me for This by Nina Siegal
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Genre: Contemporary, Action, Suspense
Length: 256 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
A pulse-pounding psychologicalthriller based on the popular Dutch tradition of blindfolding and dropping teens and pre-teens in the middle of a forest — and what happens when it goes horribly wrong.
Twelve-year old Karin is blindfolded and dropped into the Hoge Veluwe National Forest with three other children. With nothing but a few basic supplies and emergency food, the children are tasked with working together to navigate one of the Netherlands’ most beautiful and wild locations and return to where their families are anxiously waiting.
Karin quickly finds herself at odds with two of the older teens, and suddenly looks up to see that the other children have vanished. As Karin struggles against the elements to find her way back, she soon realizes that something far more sinister lurks in the woods.
Grace, Karin’s mother and an American married to a Dutch husband, has been nervous about this practice from the start. At first she tells herself the space is good for her daughter, but as the hours begin to tick by and the children fail to arrive at their designated campsite, she becomes certain something has gone horribly wrong.
As Karin fights for survival, and Grace hastens to find her daughter, the night culminates in the reveal of a deadly secret—and a shocking confrontation—that will push each of them to her edge.
Review:
You’ll Thank Me for This by Nina Siegal is a tense mystery with stunning twists and cunning turns.
Following the Dutch tradition known as dropping, twelve-year-old Karin and three of her fellow scouts are left in the Hoge Veluwe National Forest to find their way to the campsite. This adventure is usually safe with adults following at a safe distance behind the pre-teens. Armed with a map and compass, the four children are supposed to work together on their venture. Instead, two of the group, Dirk and Margot, pair up and leave Karin behind with Lotte. After Karin reflects back on her last time in Veluwe with her father Pieter before he passed away, she discovers that Lotte is nowhere in sight. Scared but confident, Karin sets off to find her way to the scout campsite.
Meanwhile, her mother Grace returns home to enjoy an evening by herself since her second husband Martijn is one of the parents with Karin and her group. She also takes the opportunity to find out what keeps Martijn so busy in his “man cave”. Grace’s instinct that she might have made a mistake marrying her current husband appears to be proven true when she uncovers stunning information. Martijun was Pieter’s accountant but why would he have copies of her photojournalist former husband’s photos? And why are there pictures of them that appear to be taken without her and Pieter’s knowledge? Grace is trying to understand this startling turn of events when a phone call about Karin sends her on a panicked drive to the national forest.
You’ll Thank Me for This is an exciting mystery that is quite engrossing. Karin is a resourceful, intelligent young woman with an extensive knowledge of the Hoge Veluwe National Forest. Grace’s growing uneasiness with Martijn prompts her to do the unthinkable as she searches for answers about him. The shocking information she unearths finally encourages her to act. The storyline is gripping and moves at a brisk pace. Nina Siegal brings this suspenseful novel to an action-packed conclusion. I highly recommend this thrilling novel to fans of the genre.
