Book Review: The Things We Cherished

My last Pam Jenoff book, The Lost Girls of Paris, left me ambivalent. Still, I needed an audiobook for longer car trips, and the back cover of The Things We Cherished promised "true love under the worst of circumstances." I had a slight problem at the beginning, following the trail of a few different timelines. There is talk of a clockmaker, then talk of the clock being taken by some boys out of a home, then a modern-day lawyer, then a German accused of war crimes. I caught on and settled in after the first CD, but the initial confusion was frustrating. Perhaps I would have fared better with a book in hand instead of listening.

Charlotte Gold is a lawyer defending juvenile criminals. Her ex-boyfriend, Brian Harrington, asks her to drop her cases and work on an important case that may establish him in his legal firm. When she arrives in Germany to research, Brian's no-show status forces her to work with his brother, Jack. Honestly, the passion between them is so tentative that I cannot understand how they would end up in bed, yet they did. Yes, content caution for those who prefer clean books.

The court case weaves across several countries as they follow the trail of the anniversary clock (a key piece in the solution, supposedly). I was seriously let down by the ending. It felt like a firework that was merely snuffed out before it ever achieved any power. The plot and the relationship fizzled to nothing. It simply wasn't my favorite book. I don't want the time back, per se, but I wish I had invested in one with a better conclusion and more redemption and resolution. 

Content caution: 📒