Review: The Faithful – S.M. Freedman

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

SYNOPSIS: FBI agent Josh Metcalf believes he has uncovered a decades-long conspiracy involving missing children. His obsession has led him to compile hundreds of cases. All involve children rumored to have psychic abilities—and all have no witnesses, no leads, and no resolution.

Meanwhile, Rowan Wilson, a meteorite hunter for NASA’s Spaceguard Program, is losing her grip on the past. Memories of the childhood she thought she’d had are vanishing, and dark recollections of kidnappings, mind control, and an isolated mountain ranch are taking their place.

When Rowan’s shadowed past converges with Josh’s research, they uncover a deadly plot to reshape humanity. With the world’s survival dependent on stopping a vast network of conspirators, can they decipher—and expose—the truth in time? – via NetGalley

Right off the bat, let me start with wow. I think this is my favourite book I have requested from NetGalley so far. I liked the write up, it got me quite interested, and when I requested it and received access, I had just finished another book and felt like something new. Boy, this was an excellent read! I love reading about cults and stuff like that, crazy conspiracy things and I love having more go on than you realise, something to keep you guessing. The Faithful ticks all those boxes. I also love how there is potential here for this to become a series of books, though it works alright as a standalone novel, too. You don’t feel that everything is up in the air when it is over, but you can see that there is more to tell if the author decides to – about the characters, about the future, about everything. I hope there is another one, I would definitely be right there to read that! Freedman also writes quite well, the book flowed nicely and didn’t confuse you, even though the storytelling flips from character to character, and from Rowan’s side it is an internal dialogue, it all just works for the novel. Initially I thought I knew what was coming from the novel, but it soon became evident I had no idea. There were places where I thought it could have been more tightly written or better explained, but the book caught me from the very first pages and kept me engaged throughout, which was great. I liked the characters, too, and could support them and care about what was going to happen. The concept of the book was very good – missing children, all with some sort of psychic ability, lambs blood present at all the crime scenes, this MO going back over decades? The who, what, and why is handled very well – not drawn out long enough to frustrate the hell out of you, but not rushed through so that you are wondering what, exactly, you missed and where. I liked the humour that made its way into this novel – it made me laugh because it was real corny and all, but it worked. The fact that a romance bloomed but never took front and centre in the story for me was something I truly enjoyed – I am so over a great story being wasted just so an author can tell the reader how hot the characters are for one another. There were so many things, especially about the cult, that managed to make my stomach roil. Really, this cult was crazy and sick and twisted, and no punches were spared by Freeman for this novel. Definitely recommended if you want a compelling read with good characters, an insane story and a wicked fast pace, The Faithful is well worth the read!