Review: Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp

Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided a copy of this book via the Sourcebooks Early Reads program in exchange for an honest review.  I listened to the first half on audio and completed the book in print.

I was really looking forward to this as I'm a huge thriller fan.  I've never read Nijkamp's work before and this sounded like a promising book based on the synopsis.  Plus the cover is super creepy (which I really love) with the masks.  Unfortunately, the masks don't play into the actual plot, they are more symbolic, and this really fell flat for me as a thriller.  The thriller element is secondary to the personal demons the characters deal with and the personal discovery the characters are forced to go through because of the situation they find themselves in.

We follow 5 friends as they head off to a remote cabin for one final weekend to play a role playing game (RPG) that is reminiscent of Dungeons and Dragons.  This final weekend is supposed to reconnect them before everyone graduates high school and goes their separate ways.  They've all become distant from one another for various reasons, some are explained really well while some are muddled.  The story is told from the perspective of each of the friends, but the main voices are Finn and Ever.  Ever is the game master, and the one who ultimately created the game and the world that the friends once bonded over.  The game is a fantasy based murder mystery game, they each have a persona with skills and costumes, and while each of the friends is different, they have all found common ground in the game.  As the friends begin to play their final game, weird things start to happen and the teens find one of their friends is missing and another has been murdered.  Each of them is quickly being targeted and called out on their deepest darkest flaws.  The remaining three have to solve this murder and get to safety before they fall next.

I do appreciate that this had a diverse cast of characters.  Unfortunately their backstories like the plot felt really jumbled and confusing.  What we do know about them is repeated several times, and the information I wanted explained is never given.  I never felt like I really got to know the characters or connected with them.  

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me.  I think it was trying to be too many things at once.  As far as thrillers go, this just didn't work for me.  

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