REVIEW: ALL THE WRONG PLACES, BY JOY FIELDING

 

Online dating is risky—will that message be a sweet greeting or an unsolicited lewd photo? Will he be as handsome in real life as he is in his photos, or were they taken ten years and twenty pounds ago? And when he asks you to go home with him, how do you know it’s safe? The man calling himself “Mr. Right Now” in his profile knows that his perfect hair, winning smile, and charming banter put women at ease, silencing any doubts they might have about going back to his apartment. There, he has a special evening all planned out: steaks, wine, candlelight . . . and, by the end of the night, pain and a slow, agonizing death.

Driven to desperation—by divorce, boredom, infidelity, a beloved husband’s death—a young woman named Paige, her cousin and rival Heather, her best friend, Chloe, and her mother, Joan, all decide to try their hand at online dating. They each download an app, hoping to right-swipe their way to love and happiness.

But one of them unwittingly makes a date with the killer, starting the clock on a race to save her life.

 

My Thoughts: The four women navigating online dating in All the Wrong Places reminded me of how everything has changed for newly single women. My favorite characters were Paige and her mother Joan, while Heather was the least liked one.

Chloe is still married when the story begins, but her husband Matt has proven to be unfaithful and bordering on abusive.

In the alternating narratives, we follow along as the women explore the ups and downs of life in the New Millennium.

An anonymous voice reveals the thoughts and feelings of a serial killer, and as we watch him move toward each target, while reminiscing about his previous ones, we wonder which of our main characters will be stricken.

I liked that the characters felt so real, and that the serial killer aspects did not take over everything. There was plenty of story dealing with friendships, rivalries, and dating issues. The intensity ratcheted up at the end, once the serial killer zoomed in on his final victim. Who would it be? We think we know, but a last-minute switch changes everything and leaves some unanswered questions. A page turner that earned 5 stars.

***