"When April joins a support group for young widows, she’s looking for answers after her husband’s sudden death. What she finds instead is a group in turmoil.
Set up by well-meaning amateurs, the founders are tussling for control of the group, and everyone’s on edge. Added to that, secret relationships springing up between members and another new member, Nick, seems more than a little bit shady…
But the most dangerous secret of all? Not all members are who they seem to be. And they’ll go to any lengths to hide the truth…"
I picked this up at random while shopping the other day, and felt immediately intrigued by the blurb. Never underestimate the skills of blurb writers, fellow readers.
It's a very clever premise. In almost a closed set, with minimal other locations throughout the story, Amanda Brooke cleverly weaves together a tale of intrigue and deceit between people who are at their most raw and vulnerable. Throughout the story is a constant guessing game of whether the secrets unfurled are tame or nefarious. More importantly, who are the actors in this group? Some of the supporting characters, such as Steve and Jodie, are easy to guess. But the ones who come to the fore present more interesting conundrums.
It's a masterclass in showing how well a writer must know their characters in order to proceed with delicate webs such as these. Any false move or step from the characters would mean that the plot would fall apart at worst, or be implausible at best. Plot and character, of course, are important, but readers won't care about the plot if they are not invested in the characters. The people in this story provoke strong emotions, so you get invested in their arcs and desperately race ahead to find their resolutions.
I stayed up unwisely late three nights to get to the end of this story, still guessing to the very end who deserves my sympathy as the reader, or not. But the beauty of this, no spoilers, is that these people are not black and white at all. It doesn't make things neat, but it makes them real.
Thursday 23 January 2020
Thursday 9 January 2020
New review: The Other You, S. J. Munroe
Note: I was given a free proof copy of this book in exchange for this review.
The Other You is a fascinating and captivating psychological thriller. Told through three points of view, the story centres on Kate, a 'super-recogniser' - that is, a person with the extraordinary ability to remember faces. She worked for the police, helping identify criminals, until an accident caused her brain damage. While in hospital, she met her partner - Rob, a tech entrepreneur - who helped nurse her back to health.
However, tensions quickly crack through the surface. Rob confides in Kate his fear of meeting his doppelganger, whom he has apparently met once before. This doppelganger threatened to steal Rob's life.Kate starts to fear that Rob has been replaced by his doppelganger. Soon, she worries that she has a condition caused by her accident, Capgras, which convinces her that Rob has been replaced.
Meanwhile, there are other elements to the story. The policeman for whom Kate used to work, and Kate's ex Jake, find out that her accident may not have been an accident after all. Meanwhile, super recognisers are disappearing all over Europe, sparking worries that this links to a much larger conspiracy.
The Other You is exceptionally well-planned and plotted, with many twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end. Action and new knowledge emerges on every page - I was up until very late for a couple of days while reading this book. Once you read lots of psychological thrillers they start to feel quite samey, but the premise of this story with the super recognisers makes it feel fresh and original.
My favourite character was the no-nonsense Bex, Kate's friend, but my only wish was that she had been given a bit more to do rather than be there to serve Kate's character. Jake and the policeman, on the other hand, had their own far-reaching character arcs that complemented the main thread of the story.
Overall, this was a hugely entertaining read that I will most definitely read again to pick up on all the clues I missed the first time around.
The Other You is a fascinating and captivating psychological thriller. Told through three points of view, the story centres on Kate, a 'super-recogniser' - that is, a person with the extraordinary ability to remember faces. She worked for the police, helping identify criminals, until an accident caused her brain damage. While in hospital, she met her partner - Rob, a tech entrepreneur - who helped nurse her back to health.
However, tensions quickly crack through the surface. Rob confides in Kate his fear of meeting his doppelganger, whom he has apparently met once before. This doppelganger threatened to steal Rob's life.Kate starts to fear that Rob has been replaced by his doppelganger. Soon, she worries that she has a condition caused by her accident, Capgras, which convinces her that Rob has been replaced.
Meanwhile, there are other elements to the story. The policeman for whom Kate used to work, and Kate's ex Jake, find out that her accident may not have been an accident after all. Meanwhile, super recognisers are disappearing all over Europe, sparking worries that this links to a much larger conspiracy.
The Other You is exceptionally well-planned and plotted, with many twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end. Action and new knowledge emerges on every page - I was up until very late for a couple of days while reading this book. Once you read lots of psychological thrillers they start to feel quite samey, but the premise of this story with the super recognisers makes it feel fresh and original.
My favourite character was the no-nonsense Bex, Kate's friend, but my only wish was that she had been given a bit more to do rather than be there to serve Kate's character. Jake and the policeman, on the other hand, had their own far-reaching character arcs that complemented the main thread of the story.
Overall, this was a hugely entertaining read that I will most definitely read again to pick up on all the clues I missed the first time around.
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