Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with it, but I’m just not the sort of person to spontaneously pick up and buy a book from a supermarket, of all places. Being the control freak that I am, I usually research books beforehand. However, I couldn’t have been more surprised with this impulse buy. According to the cover, if you liked Girl On The Train you will LOVE this, although, unlike the majority of the general public, I have yet to read it (I will though! Eventually!).
Our protagonist, Emily, has run away from her seemingly perfect family and nobody knows why. We see the different perspectives of a variety of characters throughout, however it is Emily’s life we, as the reader, become so invested in; so invested in fact, that I often had to remind myself that we were supposed to be looking for clues as to why she ran away in the first place. Emily is extremely likeable; as we follow her journey through starting a new life in London, we find ourselves hoping that whatever happened in her past, as dark as it might be (which we get the feeling it is), doesn’t rear its ugly head.
Part of the beauty in this book is the format; time, place, and character perspective change with each chapter, including a switch between first and third person narration, but in a very coherent and easy to follow way. This, actually, is pretty hard to do as a writer. The chop and change effect makes the story seem more realistic, in the way that someone telling a story would go off track and start telling other mini stories, which end up adding substance to the thing they were trying to tell you in the first place.
Seskis has an amazing way of making you think you know everything about Emily, before hitting you with shocking yet believable twists, which, again, shows an extremely talented author, as not many are able to achieve this. Despite this feeling of dread which builds throughout the book, the ending still manages to be equal amounts surprisingly gut wrenching and yet extremely satisfying, in a kind of morbid way.
I didn’t put this book down for the three days it took me to read. For an easy read, this book really packs some punch and would be easily enjoyed by a wide range of readers.
Words by Hayley Lynes