Set in the USA, this is the story of five friends, who have visited Las Vegas together every year since college, and are now visiting for the first time without the lynchpin of their group, the charismatic Dylan, who has died in an accident.

Though focusing on the trip to Vegas, the novel spends a great deal of time revisiting the friends’ university days together, and in its preoccupation with university life feels somewhat like a rehash of Tranter’s first novel, The Legacy.

The writing is polished but the novel lacks emotional depth. Both past and present events are narrated by the insipid and unconvincing Elliot. I was ten pages into the novel before I realised Elliot was a male character and it came as a shock. As the novel progressed I was struck again and again by the ‘femaleness’ of Elliot’s thoughts and actions, in particular, his analysis of his friendships. In addition, Elliot is supposed to be an American character but the 'voice' to me did not sound American.

Intended as a thriller, the novel’s plot pivots on the idea that Dylan was not quite what he seemed. However, given Elliot’s obsessive dissection of his friendships it seemed utterly implausible to me that Elliot could know so little about his friends, and that the revelations which take place in Vegas could come as such a surprise to him.

Though it was relatively enjoyable to read, ultimately this book felt like its Vegas setting: inauthentic.