Published: June 22, 2021

William Morrow

I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Laura Lippman is the New York Times bestselling author of acclaimed stand-alones and the award-winning Tess Monaghan series.

“You can love something that makes you sad.”

Gerry is a successful author, recovering from an accident that has left him bed-blind and dependent. With nothing else to do but ponder the past while attempting to contemplate the future, Gerry muses past and present as a future he could never anticipate looms dangerously close.

This is the first novel from Laura Lippman I’ve read, and it is her first horror book. You can see the heavily influenced novels within the context- like Misery- but this story is oddly unique.

How this story unfolds is interesting. I did find the first half of the novel reasonably tedious, though as it starts to build moments, you get sucked into the plot and cannot put the book down.

I found the character of Gerry interesting, as he is a writer. So getting that insight into a writer’s mind was very incredible. There is a lot about him to dislike, but I also did like Gerry. I think he had good intentions. However, you know what they say about good intentions.

The characters in this novel are vastly different, but each is so well plotted and uniquely described. The development throughout is pretty intense.

The twist in this book smacked me in the face so hard I saw stars. I was not expecting the twist or the ending. Well done.