The Gap
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4.2 • 150 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
From Ninie Hammon, sorceress of psychological suspense, comes The Gap, a thrilling new intergenerational tale of dark secrets and hidden tragedies that will keep you turning pages late into the night.
In the sprawling Harrington House on the Texas prairie, the family of 100-year-old Olivia Harrington has gathered for the funeral of her daughter-in-law, Hannah. All the generations, from The Greatest Generation to Gen Alpha, are represented among the three dozen people who spend the weekend together. But this family reunion is far from peaceful.
Olivia's son, Cyrus, couldn't let his wife, Hannah, build a koi pond in the backyard because he knows what's buried under the cherry tree. Did he kill her to keep the secret?
Cyrus's sister Alex is dying, and she believes she's the one who killed Hannah. Is she wrong?
When four-year-old Chapman steals the shiny ring off his dead grandmother's body, it creates chaos among the cousins, who've been promised millions of dollars worth of Hannah's jewelry. But when the ring is found, a shocking secret is revealed.
Olivia's great-granddaughter, Avery, hates her father, Spencer, for running down a kid on a bicycle. But an old picture in the attic might prove he spent eight years in prison for a crime he didn't commit— unless the man who's really guilty gets his hands on the picture … or kills Spencer first.
After Olivia makes an explosive announcement on the day of the funeral, a stranger shows up with a gun, demanding to know who her mother is.
Then a storm strikes, the lights go out, and the house catches fire. All members of the family struggle to survive. They don't all make it out alive. And in a final, astonishing twist, they discover a cold-blooded killer has been among them all along.
Full of twists and turns, The Gap is a gripping thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats until the end.
Customer Reviews
The Gap
Too many characters to keep track of and politics should have been left out. Otherwise a good story.
Burned out reading this
1.12/5
Bad. Just bad. I don’t even feel like writing a review because I just want to forget about this book. This will just be a list rather than an essay because I’m so over this.
WARNING: Light spoilers ahead.
Positives:
- Interesting plot: having a multi-generational family (from the Greatest Generation to Gen Α) all come to one place.
- Names were interesting (I’m a name nerd).
Negatives:
- Heavily relies on generational stereotypes. Olivia (matriarch of family) has never seen video games before, for example. Maddie (Gen Z) is a blue-haired SJW. None of the characters broke stereotype (except for Avery at the very end, but I’ll mention that later). Each POV used very predictable speaking style.
- No fluidity. Lots of plot holes. For half the book, Avery and Maddie were speculating the manner of Aunt Hannah’s death, and then just stopped out of nowhere. Alex selling Hannah’s jewelry was never brought up again (huge plot point bc that’s where the inheritance is at). Conversations between characters sounded very NPC.
- Lots of telling, no showing at all. Reads as AI.
- Author feels the need to over explain everything. Repeats facts over and over again. “Oh, Avery must still be in the house because her car is still there!” *goes upstairs and doesn’t hear anyone* “I don’t hear her, but I know she’s still there because her car is outside!” Yeah, I know, you just said that.
- Very unrealistic. I don’t mind looking over some unrealistic scenarios (eg: I love “Legally Blonde” even though no way would Harvard have accepted Elle’s video essay). But there was just TOO many, and it was just PAINFULLY unrealistic. Rowan’s mom got killed instantly because she fell on the stem of a broken wine glass. Avery just accepts her father after years of resenting him because she found out he actually wasn’t the cause of an accidental death (which I don’t mean she should hate him, but naturally when you grow up hating your dad, and find out the reason why you hated him ended up being a lie, you don’t just start hugging and called him daddy. You’d feel a complex of emotions). Gabe suddenly managed to dissected his memories of being attacked by a monster in under a minute, even though he had nightmares about it for 50+ years. Jude is schizophrenic and calls the voice “the Other”, which does not typically happen with people with schizophrenia. That’s just a quick google search. If you’re gonna talk about a highly stigmatized mental illness, at least do your due diligence, ESPECIALLY SINCE (big spoiler) HE WANTED TO KILL SPENCER.
- 80% of the book was the beginning, giving context to everything. The rest was rushed.
Speculations:
- I think the author is transphobic. Alex was being transphobic, and you can argue that this is the character, not the author. However, at the end of the book, Avery said she thinks a lot of people in her family agree with her, implying it’s good she said the things she says. This is out of character for Avery, and NONE of these characters EVER break character. Also her saying that was not even relevant at all.
- I feel like this book was written by AI. However, if I’m wrong, it was definitely rushed. Book is 500+ pages, published in 2023. Book takes place after COVID-pandemic and when all restrictions have been long lifted. Also referenced Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, which happened in 2022. So she wrote a 500+ pages in a year? Books usually take AT LEAST two years to write, and I would imagine even longer if it’s 500+ pages.
Bottom line:
I don’t want to think about this book again. It was such a chore to read, I was forcing myself to finish it. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
Messages I sent to friends when talking about this book:
- “I’d rather slam my head against the wall than read that book again.”
- “the wack book in my Books app”
Apologies for any mistakes in grammar and spelling. I’m exhausted.
The Gap
Loved the twists, turns, and flashbacks. Kept me from putting it down through the very end. Love the realism in the fact that every family has skeletons in the closet. A great read!