It’s always sunny in Detroit for Faith Richards. The popular TV meteorologist, endearingly referred to as “The Fair Weather Friend” by her viewers, has the world by the tail. But one night, Faith leaves work on a dinner break and never returns. Her body is found the next morning.
The town is reeling, suspects emerge, and long-buried secrets are uncovered. While her allies rally, her list of adversaries also grows. Little does anyone know that only the deepest secrets will expose the truth.
I read Jessie Garcia’s debut thriller, The Business Trip, last year. And what stuck out to me the most from that book was that one of the characters worked at a TV news station. That dynamic was really interesting, and stuck in my mind long after finishing the book. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that her second novel featured a weather reporter.
Similar to her debut, The Fair Weather Friend has multiple timelines and several POVs (8 to be precise). I primarily listened to this book, and the narrator, Gail Shalan, did a great job of using a distinct voice for each character. Without the audiobook, I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to keep everyone separate in my head!
As a popcorn thriller, this was a decent read. There was a quick and interesting plot hook to keep me invested, and I really liked some of the main characters, especially a nosy aunt who’s a huge fan of the missing weather reporter, and her niece who’s interning at the news station. However, there were definitely more POVs than I felt necessary, and everything started to become a jumbled mess of information in the middle of the book. The ending had a few final interesting twists, but didn’t really land for me.
Overall, this is definitely a thriller that’s a fast-paced read with a unique plot and characters. While some sections felt bogged down, the main characters in the story were well-developed and did a lot of the heavy lifting with plot progression. I’d recommend this to anyone looking to get out of a reading funk by reading something quick and different that their regular reading!
Thanks to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the free advanced audiobook & ebook in exchange for an honest review!
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