Release Day Review: Behind Her Eyes
Author: Sarah Pinborough
304 pages in Paperback
Published: January 31, 2017
Dates Read: January 23-29, 2017
My Rating: 4 Stars
Book Summary from Amazon:
Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and sparks fly. Though he leaves after they kiss, she’s thrilled she finally connected with someone.
When Louise arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man from the bar…who says the kiss was a terrible mistake, but who still can’t keep his eyes off Louise.
And then Louise bumps into Adele, who’s new to town and in need of a friend. But she also just happens to be married to David. And if you think you know where this story is going, think again, because Behind Her Eyes is like no other book you’ve read before.
David and Adele look like the picture-perfect husband and wife. But then why is David so controlling? And why is Adele so scared of him?
As Louise is drawn into David and Adele’s orbit, she uncovers more puzzling questions than answers. The only thing that is crystal clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong. But Louise can’t guess how wrong―and how far a person might go to protect their marriage’s secrets.
In Behind Her Eyes, Sarah Pinborough has written a novel that takes the modern day love triangle and not only turns it on its head, but completely reinvents it in a way that will leave readers reeling.
My Review:
Imagine this: You’re a single mom in a bar and meet this guy. You have a great evening with him and exchange a kiss. You haven’t had a night like that in a long time. Then on Monday morning you arrive to work and meet your new boss who is the man from the bar, and worse yet he is married!
This is just the beginning of Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. If you think this will be your typical love triangle thriller then you are in for a surprise as it is anything but that!
Behind Her Eyes has two narrators, Louise and Adele; Louise is the mistress and Adele is the wife. The book also contains flashbacks. Behind Her Eyes is yet again another book where you can’t say much without spoilers and you don’t want that with this book!
Behind Her Eyes is a good suspense/thriller, but for me I wasn’t as enthralled as I have been with other thrillers. There was nothing wrong with Sarah Pinborough’s writing which was fabulous. She was very detailed and meticulous with what she wrote. She gives hints to the big twists throughout the novel, and you just have to look. Knowing the ending now, I can see the red herrings throughout.
As I was reading I became worried that the book would not live up to my expectations because of the marketing behind it. The marketing includes a #wtfthatending hashtag. Behind Her Eyes really got going for me towards the end of the book, the last 40 pages. That ending really is a WTF moment.
After completing the book, I had to process what I read. I did figure out what was going to happen a few pages before the big reveal began, but Sarah Pinborough was not finished with me! She took a twist and shocks you by giving you another! The only warning I can give you is to prepare yourself to suspend your sense of belief. That seems to be the way to not be disappointed with Behind Her Eyes.
Behind Her Eyes is recommended. Go ahead and get a copy and prepare yourself for that #wtfthatending moment!
I received an e-arc from NetGalley and physical arc from Flatiron Books via a Facebook giveaway.
The Caretaker
The Caretaker
Author: Dan Klefstad
Published: February 1, 2017 in issue 209 of Crack the Spine Literary Magazine
Date Read: January 9, 2017
My Rating: 5 Stars
Short Story Summary:
Daniel is about to retire after decades of working for a vampire. He’s writing a letter to the applicant who wishes to succeed him; a letter that’s part memoir and part advice. We never hear regret in Daniel’s words, but we get a sense of the sacrifices he made to be able to spend his remaining years in peace and luxury.
My Review:
The Caretaker is a short story and is written as a letter from Daniel to the applicant chosen to replace him, as a message and warning about the job. We are the applicant in this instance and we are warned if we continue reading the letter and don’t take the job it could prove very dangerous. Dan Klefstad pulls you in to this short story from the beginning. You can’t help but read on, despite Daniel’s warning… Do we read on fellow applicant? Yes, we do!
Daniel gives lots of advice on what to do and not to do with our new employer with great care otherwise we will meet disastrous results. Then he goes into part of his story as a caretaker giving us an idea what we are in for by taking this job. It is not an easy job or life that Daniel had working as a caretaker. He earned his money. But at what cost? We must continue reading The Caretaker to know everything…
I highly enjoyed The Caretaker. It is a short story that Dan Klefstad is working to expand into a full length novel. I find myself anticipating that future novel. Do yourself a favor and get this issue of Crack the Spine and read Dan Klefstad’s short story!
The Caretaker is recommend. Issue 209 of Crack the Spine will be out TOMORROW!
Here is the link to The Caretaker.
[Top]First Line Friday #4
This week’s First Line Friday comes from a book I read several years ago and did the ugly cry. It went in a direction I did not expect. I own the movie, but still have not brought myself to watch it!
Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.
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