The Things We Don’t See by Savannah Brown

I reviewed another book by the author previously here

I picked this book up because I found the previous work by the author interesting. This had me expecting something from the book that I did not arrive.
I may be starting my year with books I did not enjoy, but I gave them a fair shot, and they had things that would recommend them to others who have different tastes from me and deserve mention.
This particular book has a gorgeous cover and an ominous atmosphere that starts off from the very beginning. Our lead protagonist has found her way to a remote location to uncover a secret which the locals have suppressed for her podcast. She is a summer worker who has lied about her age and now is using her position to get information to put pieces together with a little help and a lot of push back from people around her.
The premise is something that I like, a cold case and secrets. I actually was more satisfied by the grisly turn of events in the present narrative than any of the contradictions and twists that formed the complete picture of the past.
Although the growth curve for most of the characters was exciting to watch, it did not make up for the letdown I felt for the way things were wrapped up overall. If there had been nothing to the past story and the sole twist was that in the present I would have actually liked the book much better!
The author is a good writer and can bring images to life with few words, and I would read another book by her if I liked the blurb. The previous work was more unique, and the weirdness was something I enjoyed and probably expected more of that here.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.