Starred review from January 3, 2022
At the start of this mesmerizing psychological thriller from British author Candlish (The Other Passenger), lighting consultant Ellen Saint is working with a new client on a London warehouse conversion when she spots a person she recognizes on the roof of a nearby building. That man, Kieran Watts, however, has been dead for more than two years—or so Ellen thought, because she, along with her ex-significant other, Vic Gordon, contracted with someone to kill him. The murder-for-hire scheme was revenge against the “monster who destroyed” her life when Vic’s and her 19-year-old son, Lucas, died in a car accident, for which she blames Kieran, the car’s driver. The current sighting resurrects devastating memories and provokes Ellen, who fears for her new family, to try again to kill Kieran. Obsession, deception, betrayal, and injustice follow. Chapters from Vic’s point of view, from both past and present, help build tension. In the end, the narrative threads cross in a heart-stopping confrontation that tests Ellen’s lifelong phobia for high places. This cleverly constructed novel will keep readers enthralled until the last page. Agent: Sheila Crowley, Curtis Brown (U.K.).
Starred review from February 1, 2022
With Candlish's (The Other Passenger) trademark twists and turns, this is a slow-burn psychological suspense that examines grief, fear, guilt, and revenge. Ellen Saint is a mother, wife, and lighting consultant. While at a client's home, she looks out the windows to the apartment across the way and sees Kieran Watts, a man she thought she had killed. This puts Ellen back on a dark path as she recalls Kieran's impact on her son Lucas and all that Kieran destroyed. As a form of therapy, she writes out the disastrous effects that Kieran had on her family from when he entered it seven years earlier. Interspersed with Ellen's manuscript is a Sunday Times magazine article about Ellen as well as the perspective of Ellen's ex (and Lucas's father) Vic. As the narrative circles backs to Ellen's present-day sighting of Kieran, readers will wonder who is the real bad guy. VERDICT In the vein of William Landay's Defending Jacob, this title is a good choice for readers who enjoy twisting narratives.--Lynnanne Pearson
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Starred review from February 1, 2022
Ellen met Vic when they were both very young. She became pregnant and had a son, Lucas. Vic has played a big part in both Ellen's and Lucas' lives, even since he and Ellen split and she remarried and had a daughter. Ellen has high hopes for both of her children and is determined that Lucas will attend Oxford or Cambridge. But in his last year of secondary school, Lucas meets Kieran Watts, who, in Ellen's mind, is extremely dangerous influence on her son. Then something terrible happens. Ellen blames Kieran and vows to get revenge, no matter how long it takes, what she has to do to get it, or how much her friends, family, marriage, and work might suffer. The rest of the story shows what happens when a woman turns from protective mom to vengeful fury capable of focusing only on retribution. The ending delivers a terrible shock, and while readers may initially feel pity for Ellen, by the end of the novel, they are likely to see only her paranoia and single-minded quest to make Kieran pay. Dark, disturbing, and deeply affecting, this humdinger of a story is full of unexpected twists and is sure to keep readers riveted from first page to last.
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