UNBECOMING by Rebecca Scherm

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

Grace is a chameleon. She is a master at fitting in and becoming the person that others want her to be. In her current incarnation, she is hiding out in Paris working in a business that repairs antiques.  She is hiding from the two most important men in her life who have just been released from prison. Grace grew up in small-town Garland, Tennessee where she was the girlfriend of the town golden boy, Riley.  Grace secretly marries Riley when they are in college in a move to maintain her position in his family. Soon after the marriage, she finds herself attracted to his friend Alls. In a desperate attempt to escape from Garland, the group of friends decides to rob a local historic home.  Alls, Riley, and their friend Greg are caught. Grace escapes to Europe with a valuable painting.  Now, her husband and lover have finally been released from prison and Grace is afraid that they will track her down and force her to confront not only her past but also who she has become.

I have seen this book compared to everything from GONE GIRL to Tartt's GOLDFINCH to Highsmith's TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. I did not think of any of those novels when reading UNBECOMING. The only real connection to GOLDFINCH is that of a stolen painting.  It is probably closest to TALENTED MR. RIPLEY simply because of Grace's attempt to play roles and become whoever she needs to be at any given moment. I really loved the idea of the book and the backstory. Grace is an interesting character and I loved reading about how she came to be in Paris.  The disappointment came with the ending.  It did not make any sense to me. The build-up was so good but the ending fell flat and didn't seem believable. There are hints about who Grace is at her core and this might be the closest connection I can make to GONE GIRL.  Grace's lack of a true core and sense of self is a little reminiscent of a certain character in GONE GIRL.  The reasoning behind this lack of self doesn't really work for me.  And I did not buy the transformation of Alls' character AT ALL.  It was a very nice, well-paced read until the ending and then it completely fell flat.

BOTTOM LINE: Not recommended. Interesting characters and a good concept but the author failed to follow through with a plausible ending.