Jane is recovering from a personal tragedy and wants to completely start over: new job, new home, new life. Her real estate agent shares a unique listing in London, one that comes with hundreds of rules for tidiness and organization. The idea of culling her possessions, answering extensive questionnaires not only to be accepted to live in the house, but at random intervals as time goes on, and living in a place so technologically advanced the lighting changes to help improve your mood really appeals to her. Jane isn’t even too concerned when she learns that the previous resident, Emma, died in the house. That is until she starts to learn more and more about the girl who was there before.
The book is told in alternating chapters between Emma and Jane and the fragility of these women makes the strange life choices they make seem believable. And the author has a knack for making you look, stare even, at one point as something else is happening right there on the page. I want to say so much more but I can’t. I don’t want to risk ruining it for you.
This book keeps being compared to The Girl on a Train which I think is completely unfair. I thought it was much better and completely different. What it does have in common is the potential to be the breakout psychological thriller of January -- which I hope it becomes because it seriously deserves to be the next big hit. Is it deep literary fiction? No, it’s not that. But it is a thriller that will keep you up all night reading through to the end.
Put your holds on now -- it is released next week!
