A Stranger In The House

Goodreads Description

You come home after a long day at work, excited to have dinner with your beautiful wife. But when you walk through the door, you quickly realize that she's not there. In the kitchen, there is a pot on the stove, and vegetables on the counter, abandoned. Her cellphone and her purse are still in the house, in the bedroom, exactly where she keeps them. It looks like she's left in a blind panic. You fear the worst, so you call her friends to see if they know where she is. Then you call the police. The police tell you that your wife's been in an accident. They found her in the worst part of town, after she lost control of the car while speeding through the streets. But why would she go to that neighbourhood? And why was she driving so fast? Was she running toward something? Or away from something? The police think your wife was up to no good. You refuse to believe it, at first. Then, as the stories and facts don't line up, and your wife can't remember what happened that evening, you start to wonder. You've been married for two years and you thought you knew her better than anyone else in the world . . . . . . but maybe you don't.

My Review

Phew, that was a bit of a struggle. I was looking forward to reading this book after really enjoying The Couple Next Door, by the same author. But I almost can't believe that the same author wrote both books. I'm not sure what went wrong, but the writing style in this book was poor to say the least. I can only presume that the first book by this author was extensively edited, to such an extent that it actually changed the style, and this didn't happen with the second book.

I know from first hand experience just how difficult it is to write. As a reader, reading a book, especially one that flows effortlessly and draws one into the story, it's easy to presume that writing isn't that difficult, that we can all do it. Well no, let me tell you, it's ridiculously difficult and that's why I really dislike giving negative reviews and criticizing writing style. But in this case, in order to be honest and to render an honest review, I must criticize the writing.

I think the problem in this book was that the author broke some basic creative writing rules. One of those rules is the concept of "show, don't tell". In other words, as a writer, you must draw the reader into the story by showing them a scene, by describing it, not merely telling the reader facts. In other words, don't say "the man walked to the door. The woman looked at him and sat down", and so on. I think the writing in this book was like that. And wow, I noticed it from the start, and I struggled with it. At no stage did I feel invested in the characters or the story, I couldn't feel anything because I hadn't been made to feel anything.

On a more positive note, I did finish this book despite considering giving up on more than one occasion. The story and plot did keep me interested, and I wanted to know how everything was going to play out. However, by the time I finished the book, I hadn't felt any more engaged and the plot wasn't anything amazing.

Sorry Bookworms but I won't be recommending this read.

My Rating: * *

Publication Date: August 2017 (South Africa)

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Format: Trade Paperback

Source: Review copy received from the publisher. Many thanks to author, Shari Lapena and Penguin Random House SA for my review copy.