– I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. –
Published by Silvermac Publishing on 12 Jul 2016
Goodreads | Amazon
Karl notices something odd about his sister the morning after a blind date. A coldness in her manner; nothing anyone else would notice. Suspicious, he confronts her about the date but she turns nasty, accusing him of taking a perverse interest in her sex life.
When he next sees her, months later, she seems back to normal, until a harmless comment provokes a sudden, violent response. As her mental state fluctuates, Karl seeks out the man she dated just before her personality began to change, convinced she is suppressing a painful memory from that night. But what he discovers is something far more sinister, and pervasive, than he’d ever imagined.
I chose this book because…
I’ve always been interested by medical mysteries and unusual cases, which explains why I enjoy TV shows like House, Grey’s Anatomy, and Criminal Minds. So this book seemed like right up my alley. I find psychological thrillers so interesting and quite the adventure, because my innocent mind can never predict the dark, disturbing twists. I can’t watch psychological thriller movies unless I’m willing to sacrifice a few months of sleep, so I fill this psychological-thriller-shaped hole in my life with books. I wonder whatsup with Karl’s sister…
Upon reading it…
Once I start a book like this, I can’t stop until I get to the bottom of it. I had to try to refrain myself from reading this book during work, although I allowed myself to sink back into it on my breaks. The suspense kept me going, but at the same I felt like there could be more of it. For me, the characters suspected things too early. I mean, we as omnipresent readers know that the characters had good reason to be suspicious and paranoid, but I guess I was looking for more anticipation and build up. The way some characters seemed to be able to detect evil and feel trouble was unrealistic to me.
**highlight to reveal names and potential spoilers**
“Dawn left Isobel alone to ogle her date, but as soon as she left the living room, her smile faded. It wasn’t the conversation about Rebecca or the prospect of a lonely Saturday night that troubled her. It was Maxine. Sure she was gorgeous, but Dawn hadn’t warmed to her photo. Behind the blond hair and blue eyes, she’d detected something else. A sly cruelty in Maxine’s gaze, like she was playing a game she knew she’d already won.”
When I thought I knew what was going on, I was a little disappointed because the mad scientist trope is so cliche, but I kept reading on because I didn’t know for sure, and I was pleasantly surprised with something bigger. My heart started racing as soon as the plan started rolling.
The misogyny in the book kind of hurt, but at least it’s the bad guys who are painted misogynistic, right? Does that make it any better? Idk. I’m not sure it was totally necessary, at least perhaps not to that extent, and it felt more like a shock factor. “Everything” was explained towards the end by the bad guy right when the bad stuff was about to happen–we all know how villains like to brag–like one long monologue, but still, I don’t think we were given enough backstory about the bad guys to understand or warrant such an extreme scheme. Definitely not your typical mad scientist though.
★★★★☆
(maybe more like 3.5? 3.75?)
If you like this, you might like…
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Stranger Beside You by William Casey Moreton, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
“Don’t get smart with me, kid.”
“Why? Do you only speak stupid?”
No one fell in love that quickly, not even a hopeless romantic like her mother. She’d been hurt too many times before to let that happen.
“Okay. And hey, I’m sorry if I offended you before. You’re a professional –I understand. You’ve got no moral obligation to help me.”
Virgil stared at him. “Jesus, do you even know you’re doing it?”
“What?”
“The passive aggressive bullshit. Honestly, Karl. You’re worse than my ex-wife.”
“Being old and slow doesn’t make you wise.”
“Maybe not. But being young and careless sure does make you stupid.”