Invisible Girl @lisejewelluk @AtriaBooks #suspense #domesticthriller #family #fictionfriends #duoreviews @JanBelisle @absltmom

Reading this book with Jan, we, once again had some fun with trying to figure out what or who was the guilty party. As Jan commented, we were no Nancy Drews with this one. However, we were able to have some great conversations and time away from the pandemic world reading this exciting thriller.

Jan’s review

Childhood trauma can be carried deep inside for many years, manifesting itself in a myriad of ways. One way is a desire to be invisible, to hide, a desire to not feel confined. Saffyre is one such girl and as she’s “invisible” and hiding in the shadows she discovers the flaws and secrets of several families who live in an exclusive neighborhood.  

The story revolves around two families. There’s Owen, a socially awkward misfit who has had accusations of inappropriate behavior toward his students. He’s also had a traumatic past and while he deals with it far differently than Saffyre, in his own way he is also invisible.

There’s  the Fours family who lives across the street from Owen: Roan a psychologist who once treated Saffyre, his wife Cate, a physiotherapist now SAHM, and their two children Georgia and Josh. They too have their flaws and secrets. 

When there’s a sudden rash of attacks on girls in the neighborhood and Saffyre goes missing the police are sure they know who the culprit is.  But are the monsters within and among us so easily identified? Or do they hide in plain sight? 

The short chapters, surprising revelations, and multiple perspectives propel the story forward at a fast clip, making this a difficult book to put down. Red herrings abound and it was fun to speculate with Marialyce, my reading buddy. The underlying themes make this a terrific discussion book.

Recommended for fans  of twisty domestic dramas where the mystery often takes a backseat to the character study of complex characters. Do yourself a favor and do not read the blurb. 

• I received a digital copy for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own 

Marialyce’s review

How well we now know, that life can change, become a nightmare in a matter of hours and days. When Owen Pick, a strange man who has had his problems with socialization especially with the opposite sex is accused of a heinous crime, it seems that all fingers point in his direction. Owen lives in a peculiar community which seems to be filled with people who themselves display traits that are slightly bizarre. They seem to go about their daily lives with little neighborhood interaction until the unthinkable happens.

  There is the Fours family, well educated, the husband Roan being a child psychologist, while his now stay at home wife was a physiotherapist. This family has two older children, but it is the darling son who seems to be bearing secrets. They cast their eyes towards Owen as being a pariah, a man they hardly know but they do think he is definitely one to avoid. Then a horrible thing occurs, women are being sexually accosted on the streets of their town and a young girl,  Saffyre Maddox, goes missing and the eyes of all, including the police, turn towards Owen.

As all the indicators seem to pile up against Owen, as we learn more about the Fours family, particularly Roan, who has lead what some might call a checkered past. Ironically, he was the man who had Saffyre in counseling for three years, following an awful incident which occurred to her when she was ten. All the characters seem to be holding secrets which have determined the way forward in both their relationships and the disappearance of Saffyre. Is appearances what should determine one’s guilt or innocence or is it the facts which should prevail?

Lisa Jewell has created an intense character study in this book where the deeper we delve the more we see the true nature of some. It is a critique on how what appears to be so, might not be, and what we think we know might not be so. This was, as par the course for this author, an engrossing read and although I was slightly disappointed in the ending, I did enjoy the journey.

Thank you to Lisa Jewell, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book due out on October 13, 2020.

AND…..DO NOT READ THE BLURB …GOOD ADVICE FROM JAN!

and here’s the author:

Lisa Jewell is the internationally bestselling author of seventeen novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Family Upstairs and Then She Was Gone, as well as Watching You and I Found You. Her novels have sold more than 4.5 million copies across the English-speaking world, and her work has also been translated into twenty-five languages.