Book Review: Ivy Ngeow's 'The American Boyfriend' book review and a trip gone wrong
Ivy Ngeow's thriller 'The American Boyfriend' gets up steam from the opening page.
Ankush Pandey
A vacation by the sea complete with tacos and margaritas sounds ideal, doesn't it? Especially when you're in your mid-40s, a single mother of a two-year-old, and living in dreary London. So Phoebe Wong decided to take her kid on this vacation to visit her long-distance American lover Carter in Florida for a beautiful vacation.
Ivy Ngeow's thriller 'The American Boyfriend' gets steam right away. A message from the boyfriend that says "Still in New York" is a big red flag. And thus the vacation narrative begins, which could not be much worse. Ngeow establishes the setting, the boyfriend's holiday home—a remote white 1960s cottage—and Phoebe's character, Phoebe, in the first few pages. Her existence in London is nicely depicted.
The author portrays the murky nature of the lover through Carter's communications and the anxiety expressed by her best friend and mother. Obviously, you'd expect a heist and a number of killings. During her stay, Phoebe meets various people who have all lived in Key West for many years. And with each contact, it's natural to question all of them—their apathy as well as their warmth.
The lover she met on LinkedIn only 11 months ago is gone for most of the novel. With a few chapters that arrive too late and lack specifics, the author attempts to offer readers a glimpse inside his mind. Despite being a self-sufficient single mother, Phoebe continues to ignore all the red, beige, and black flags.
The novel loses steam in the middle by adding too many characters without providing enough information, making the read a little tedious. The plot eventually picks up in the final few pages, with everyone confessing and reliving their experiences. This finally leads to an unsatisfying and chaotic conclusion.
In a nutshell, pick up 'The American Boyfriend' on your next vacation for a fast, masala-Bollywood-movie-like read and go on with your life.
