Krysten’s Review

Ever since I stumbled across an ARC of Violet is Nowhere, Faith Gardner has become a must-read author for me. I love her fresh writing style, her compelling characters, and the impossible questions she poses in her Jolvix series. Pearl in Deep has the same creepy vibe as the previous installments, but for me, it fell a little short of Gardner’s usual five-star, mind-blown, can’t-stop-thinking-about-this thrillers. I didn’t feel as empathetic toward or connected to Pearl as I did for Gardner’s other main characters. I didn’t see the appeal of Christopher, or understand why Pearl kept getting drawn to him despite all the red flags. Ordinarily, Gardner’s antagonists have redeeming qualities that I can relate to or even understand, but I didn’t feel that way about Christopher.

Though the first part of the story covers a long span of time and tended to drag a bit, the last quarter or so of the book felt much more urgent. I did not see the twist coming, and the way it totally changed Pearl’s perspective on Christopher and Tallulah is one of the reasons I love Gardner’s novels: There’s no black and white, no clear-cut answer—only shades of gray.

Although this book seemed to focus more on nature vs. nurture and human psychology rather than the dangers of technology like the other Jolvix Episodes, the theme is no less intriguing. Psychopaths certainly have a bad rap in mainstream media, but are they “necessarily evil”? Certainly not, but the idea that they have no empathy and can learn to mimic human emotion is frightening. If it’s so easy to act “normal” (note the quotes—because what is “normal,” anyway?), how much can we ever really know about the people we surround ourselves with? Would Pearl have ever known Christopher was a psychopath if he hadn’t freely admitted it to her? How would that have changed not only their relationship, but her relationship with Lulu?

Even though Pearl in Deep wasn’t my favorite of Gardner’s novels, it was still a solid book. I will not be deterred from reading anything and everything else she publishes in the future, no questions asked.