This is my second book by Rebecca Collomosse, all thanks to Audible. She is making a good name for herself in the psychological thriller genre and for some solid reasons. This novel also manages to captivate readers’ attention with engaging narrative and keeps us guessing till the very end. The novel itself begins with the first shocker of this twisted tale because it seems like the author doesn’t believe in waiting for any preamble to land a straight punch.
Eve and John are out shopping for their wedding rings. They have been engaged for a while and plan to build their lives together by taking the next step of getting married. The wedding is still four months but they’re busy enjoying each other’s company for such a lovely shopping haunt.
Eve is clutching their rings and keeping them close to her heart while trying to return in weekend rush hour to their rented apartment. One minute she is being pushed into an almost packed train along with other people, the next minute she realizes that John has been left out on the platform. Of course, she waits for him; at the next station, on platform, at home but to no avail. Soon she comes to terms with the reality that He Is Gone, maybe for few days, weeks, months or forever.
As the story progresses and we get to hear it from Eve’s perspective, the narrative becomes a tad repetitive. Eve is constantly crying/ whimpering/ fraught with the memories of John and more often than not, blaming herself for his disappearance. It’s further complicated by the fact that someone is playing cruel psychological tricks on her. It gives obsessive stalker vibes, thus driving Eve towards depression and paranoia.
The suspicion keeps on shifting from one person to another as all of these characters have more grey shades than the gloomy sky on a winter day. Author keeps on shifting the focus from one backstory to another while Eve keeps losing sleep and patience.
If you’re a faithful reader of this genre then you might able to guess the big reveal before the final twist. The clues are plenty and they sort of spill themselves in the open with her best friend’s wedding fiasco. God help Eve if she is blessed with such friends!!
Yet, it is quite worth to hear the audiobook version because it manages to catch the underlying pain and heartache of the main protagonists. I’m not sure whether you will be able to sustain the drama and whining while reading a physical copy of it. It’s less to do with the writing style or even the character development and more to do with the gaping plot holes.
My final advice to Rebecca Collomosse’ leading ladies- ‘Girls, please buy a camera.’
Ciao!!