3.5

I’m a big fan of domestic psychological thrillers and when I was presented with the opportunity to review The American Boyfriend by Ivy Ngeow, I jumped at it. This fast paced novel had all the makings of a good thriller. We have our female protagonist whose choices leads her to certain dangerous situations from which she has to find a way out. The atmospheric setting of the story added a lot to the plot along with the myriad of characters thrown into the mix. But importantly, what I enjoyed the most was the slow burn experience of the book.

Phoebe Wong is a single mother who finds herself in Key West, a vacation spot chosen by her boyfriend, Carter. Their romance blossomed through social media and things quickly turned serious as they became increasingly close. But when Phoebe arrives with her daughter Jojo, everything goes topsy turvy. She realises that Carter won’t be meeting her anytime soon and is left alone in his summer house for six days. Ominous things start happening almost immediately, putting her on edge but she receives generous help from the locals. But the vacation house carries a mystery while the people in the town guard their secrets too well. She begins to wonder if she can actually trust her boyfriend and just then he arrives to meet her.

Ivy’s writing style is very easy to get acclimated to and combined with a thrilling storyline, it’s almost impossible to stop reading the book.The chapters are short, making me read it at a breakneck speed. But I had only two qualms with the book. One was the frequently used references to Jojo and the struggles of being a mother. It felt repetitive. The second was Phoebe’s personality. She didn’t behave rationally throughout the story even when she realised how her life was in danger. It seemed rather odd that she went along rather coolly in spite of many people warning her to be cautious. This didn’t sit well with me.

But I’m certain that I’d read more by Ivy hereon. Her knack for writing a gripping thriller is something that I really enjoyed.