Tag: Doubleday

CTG Reviews: DISCLAIMER by Renee Knight

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DISCLAIMER cover image

DISCLAIMER cover image

What the blurb says: “How would it feel if you came across yourself in a book? It is unmistakably you. Worse, it is about something you have never told anyone – anyone living, that is.

When an intriguing novel appears on Catherine’s bedside table, she curls up in bed and begins to read. On opening The Perfect Stranger by E.J. Preston, she is horrified to read an account of a day from twenty years ago she’s chosen to forget. Desperate for answers as to who the author is and what they want, she ploughs through the novel, until she reaches the end: the author’s portrayal of Catherine’s death.

Catherine has never met Stephen. But Stephen knows all about Catherine, including the details of her most closely guarded secret, unknown to her husband and son. Now that Stephen has found her secret, he is going to carefully and deliberately expose both it and her, exactly the ultimate revenge.”

At the moment ‘the big twist’ is hugely popular in psychological thrillers. You know, that moment where the reader turns the page and says ‘Oh my God, I never saw that coming – now everything’s changed’? Well, this book has so many ‘oh my God’ moments that I lost count!

Catherine isn’t so much an unreliable narrator as a secretive narrator. She knows the truth about what happened – it’s been festering in her mind, gnawing away at her for the last twenty years – but she still can’t bring herself to think about the details, and make herself relive the horror, of what occurred. So her side of the story remains a mystery to the reader for much of the book.

She hides what’s going on from her husband. As the stress and fear take hold, her life – work, family, self-perception – starts to fall apart, but she still won’t, can’t, tell those important to her the truth. It’s both heart-breaking and maddening (you want her to tell them, to tell you!) – and it makes for an utterly gripping narrative.

And while Catherine’s life comes apart, Stephen’s life is looking up. His plan is working, and he’s feeling more alive, more connected, to his wife, than he has done in many years. He begins to hope that maybe, finally, he’ll have succeeded in claiming some sort of justice.

Both lead characters are compelling and captivating in equal measure. Nuanced and flawed, and utterly real, they make bad choices, have regrets, and struggle to cope with the guilt they carry with them from the past.

I loved the quirky, up-close style of the narrative, and the shifts between past and present tense that really added to the feeling of what happened ‘then’ and what was happening ‘now’.

When I finished this book I sat looking at the cover and thinking about the story. ‘Wow’, I thought. Really, WOW! It is that good.

A heart wrenching, beautifully written and perfectly paced psychological thriller – with big twist after big, jaw-dropping twist – DISCLAIMER is one of my top ‘must reads’ of 2015 so far.

Highly Recommended.

 

[with thanks to Transworld for my copy of DISCLAIMER]

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins

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THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN cover image

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN cover image

What the blurb says: “Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train.”

This is such an unsettling read. It’s dark, complex and really unnerving – in a good way!

But reviewing the book is rather tough, because spoilers are almost impossible to avoid! What I can say is that it masterfully uses a non-linear timeline and alternating points of view, to create maximum suspense. This is a story that once you’ve started reading defies you to put it down. It lurks in your mind when you’re doing your daily chores, whispering at you to read on (or so I found!).

There’s a closeness to the narrative that plugs you right into the heads of the point of view characters – Rachel, Megan and Anna – and lets you see the situation as they do and experience their emotions blow-by-blow. It doesn’t mean that you like them, though. In fact, I don’t think I ‘liked’ any of the characters in this book, although at times I could certainly empathise with them. But, the fact that I didn’t like them didn’t make them any less compelling to read about.

Grounded in the realities of a crumbling marriage, the inability to move past betrayal, and the secrets they’re hiding – from those close to them, and from themselves – this is an up close and personal view into the three women’s worlds as they fracture apart in the aftermath of a violent and brutal incident.

An absolute must for fans of psychological thrillers.

Highly recommended.

[with thanks to Transworld for my copy of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN]