With a hard copy of over 600 rambling pages, the major issue with “Say You’re Sorry” stems from the lack of an assertive editor with a bright red pen. Many phrases and entire conversations are annoyingly repeated, over and over, throughout the book; e.g., Gideon Reynolds, the FBI Linguist and investigator, discusses his brutal past with friend Rafe, then later hashes over that entire conversation to himself, then talks about it again with his sister, then discusses it again with Daisy Dawson (the main protagonist). The reader is not given credit for understanding what Reynolds spells out the first time. The book also goes over the top packing in themes about isolationism, survivalists, overt sexual harassment at the workplace, alcoholism, PTSD, child brides, the Bible (“Second Eden”) and cults, pedophilia, torture, sadism, kidnapping, child abuse, petting dogs bald (yes, you read that right), and overly drawn-out (and sometimes silly) emotional and sexual scenes. The character of Gideon is hopeless; he is so beautiful (according to Daisy), a tough-minded, strong, and intelligent man who steals Daisy’s heart. In reality; he has spent 17 years hunting for the evil cult in which he had been raised, tortured, and eventually escaped from, yet keeps information to himself about the elusive cult from fellow agents who could have helped find the group’s whereabouts; and when a woman is brutally raped and nearly killed, Gideon becomes infuriated, not because of the horrible torture this innocent woman endured, but because the serial killer, Carson “Sonny” Garvey, had the audacity to call out Daisy Dawson’s name during the rape. The serial killer is annoying, stereotypical, and unbelievable (but he’s kind and gentle to small animals and children, so he has that going for him….) Unfortunately, the narration of the audiobook was thrust upon one man, and his rendition of Daisy Dawson’s voice sounded like a 60-year-old female who had smoked far too many cigarettes in her life; I was shocked when I realized Daisy was a young, blonde, pretty, and petite radio personality who could hold her own in an MMA fight. (This wasn’t the narrator’s fault; Daisy is a major character in this overwritten novel and deserved the addition of a female narrator to bring the character to life with some reality.) In short, this book is NOT worth your time or money, nor do I believe the author is one whose books you’ll want to purchase in the future.
Review from Say You’re Sorry →