Meet Me in Barcelona

October 27, 2014
Aspiring country singer Grace and her boyfriend, Jake, are thrilled to win an unexpected trip to Barcelona. Soon after arriving, however, Grace discovers that her long-estranged, semisociopathic foster sister, Carrie Ann, is in Barcelona too, and is up to her old games, accompanied by another unwelcome visitor from Grace’s past, creepy stalkerish Stan. What starts as a prank soon becomes dangerous and deadly. Reader Mitchell’s narration is hit-or-miss. She is excellent at voicing manipulative Carrie Ann, her voice by turns wheedling, affectionate, hurt, or coldly sarcastic, whereas Grace and Jake sound fairly generic. Mitchell’s accents are off-putting: a character from Barcelona has just a vaguely Spanish accent, with lots of “Joo want help with that?” and a character introduced as Belgian has a vaguely French accent. the entire book is narrated in one consistent tone, which undercuts the ever-increasing danger of the plot. A Kensington hardcover.