Finding Fiona by Emily Ann Ward

Finding Fiona
I received this book in ebook format from the Author, through LibraryThing Member Giveaway

The victim of a brutal attack, Fiona could remember little about her life until she meets someone who claims to be from her past. He tells her that her parents were killed for a human replication machine. He's shocked to discover she's still alive since her body was found in the wreckage of the fire. 

She soon travels to her old home in New York to figure out what happened to her and her family. She needs to find out who she is, but more importantly, confront the men who killed her parents.

The synopsis explains what goes on the book rather well. There is Fiona who suffers from amnesia, and is in search of who she is. There is a bit of science-y things that have to do with human replication (not to confuse with cloning, very different things). And there is crime and mystery as well.

It sounded promising, but this book just didn't work out for me. Not the writing, that seemed too fast and too dry, not the characters, with whom I couldn't connect with, and especially not the science. Because in science fiction, I have to believe the science works, no matter how strange it seems. In this case it just made my eyebrow go up while I questioned: “Seriously?”.

And as for the mystery, I didn't expect much surprises and on that account, I was not disappointed. It had a nice twist in the ending, that I have to admit didn't cross my mind, but apart from that it all fitted the characters' suspicions.

And speaking of characters, and since I said they didn't work out for me, let me elaborate. Fiona, the main character, was probably the one I had most trouble with. She was confusing, but not in the way of “I don't know who I am”, more like she couldn't make up her mind about things. I also found her lacking some depth, and I would have liked to have the amnesia part more explored, the sense of not knowing who she was. Apart from her relationship with Hannah, the woman who helps her when she is found after her attack, the interactions with the other characters felt a bit flat. And that includes her past boyfriend.

This is a rather short book, and maybe it's meant to be taken more lightly than I have. But for that I would have expected a lighter theme, or some humour in it, or maybe some actual romance. As it is, this book remains just an unsatisfying execution to a good idea.


Rating: 2 out of 5

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