Summary:
My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:
1. I’m in a coma.
2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie.
Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller asks: Is something really a lie if you believe it’s the truth?
My take: 3 looks
Originally reviewed September 10, 2018
Love the way Feeney lays out this story. Told in three time periods, Before (in the form of a child’s diary), Then (days before the accident), and Now (present day), the cadence of the timelines is pure perfection. I was shocked to find that this is the first book by the author. The story is crisply told and doesn’t pander to what Feeney knows is a smart reader base. There is a lot going on in these pages, and just like life, when the tale starts to unravel, it is fast and furious.
There is a feeling … an inkling … of a coming twist toward the middle of the book, but the size and scope of the turn of events will leave you breathless, wondering, “What did I just read?” I found myself questioning almost everything I believed about the characters and story to that point, feeling almost disoriented as I turned the pages faster and faster.
While there is a very Gillian-Flynn feel to the book, I found this one to be more realistic than “Sharp Objects” and more provocative than “Gone Girl”. However, if you like that genre, don’t let this one pass you by. You’ll want to read it before the television version is released, which I understand sold for six figures.
This one is recommended, and I have already put Feeney’s next book, “I Know Who You Are”, published in 2019, on my TBR.
