Emerjas

Four months ago, Sophie’s best friend, Mina, was murdered in front of her. Everyone thinks that it was a drug deal gone wrong that Sophie, a recovering drug addict, dragged Mina into. No one believes Sophie when she says that she’s been clean for months and that it was Mina who had taken them there to meet someone. Finally out of rehab, Sophie is determined to discover who killed Mina and why.

Far From You is told with alternating chapters that take place in the present and the past. The past chapters aren’t told chronologically, although I didn’t mind that. They focus on Sophie’s relationship with Mina, slowly revealing how things were between the two of them. We begin with an image of the perfect Mina, but slowly start to see the real Mina with each new chapter. Even though Mina was dead by the time the book started, Sophie’s relationship with Mina was my favorite part of the book. Pretty early on, I started to suspect that the two of them had been in love, which was confirmed after a while. Their relationship was not straightforward or easy, but I loved watching it unfold and found myself getting wrapped up in it even though I knew Mina was already dead. The other big part of their relationship is Mina’s brother, Trev, who liked Sophie and was unaware of Mina and Sophie’s feelings for one another. Like everyone else, he blames Sophie for Mina’s death, even though he still has feelings for her. The two of them have a few things to work out during the book.

The mystery really takes a backseat to all the relationships in the book, but I didn’t mind that at all. The relationships really are the best part of the book and were what drew me in. That being said, I did enjoy the mystery of who killed Mina. I correctly guessed who killed her fairly early on, but it took me quite a bit longer to figure out the why part. I don’t think the who and why of Mina's death were really as important to the story as was Sophie’s coming to terms with everything and sorting out all her feelings for Mina and their past. At the heart of this story is their relationship.

I wasn’t expecting to be sucked in by this book when I started it. I picked it up on a whim, but I’m very glad that I did.