Imagine waking up to discover you’d been seriously injured in a car accident. Now imagine how much more shocking it would be when your husband, who was in the car with you, is missing.
This is what happens at the beginning of this book, as Faith Finlay wakes up in the hospital and has to begin slowly piecing her life back together. A therapist with a successful practice, a part-time radio career and a book deal, Faith’s husband Liam is a top food critic. Together, they’re a perfect couple. On paper.
There’s evidence that Liam may have been planning to leave, and the police don’t seem interested in looking for him. Faith can’t believe it, but as she digs, more and more things come to light that she didn’t know about her husband.
Written in two timeframes, before the accident and several weeks post-recovery as Faith tries to come to terms with her new reality, this is really cleverly done. It takes a long time for Faith to finally realise she’s being gaslighted and she’s the target or a concerted attack; though clues were planted early on, I absolutely didn’t see the villain reveal coming.
It would be easy to resent Faith for having it all; she’s pretty, clever, successful etc., but she’s also falling apart at the seams and descending into depression and dependence on alcohol and prediction drugs. She’s a reliable protagonist but she’s not operating with all the information, the reader learning right along with her what’s really going on and being just as shocked as she is. It’s not always an easy read and there are quite a few potential triggers in it, from the aforementioned alcohol/drug dependency to parental abuse of a child, gaslighting, partner violence and a surprisingly gory description of an accidental death.
This is such a clever read and I was genuinely hooked. There are a few spots where things get a little slow and quite a lot of red herrings, but they’re all a logical part of Faith’s investigation and her character arc. It’s a really excellent psychological suspense and I will definitely be looking for more books by this author. Five stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.
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