by Alice Feeney
This was the first book I have read by Alice Feeney. I am impressed! This book was dark, twisted, and unexpected. Abby and Grant are a married couple with problems. Abby doesn’t feel the love like she used to. Grant is a writer and is focused on his books all the time. He is waiting for the confirmation of his first best seller when Abby is on her way home from work. She isn’t there for the phone call and he is hurt. He calls Abby to tell her the good news. She is congratulating him and then she explains to him she had to stop for someone was lying in the road. Grant doesn’t want her to get out of the car for fear something awful will happen to her. He was right! She disappears and is never heard from again. Reading this from Grant’s point of view, you can feel his sorrow, grief, and pain over losing the love of his life. There are then chapters from Abby’s perspective which show that their marriage isn’t the bed of roses that Grant thinks it is.
After a year of grief, Grant’s publisher Kitty, sends him to a home she inherited on an island. She is hopeful he can grieve and then finish writing his next book there. Once Grant is on the island, a lot of weird things begin to happen to him. He sees his wife everywhere and becomes paranoid. His insomnia is a huge problem along with his drinking. Through Alice’s writing you can’t help but feel sorry for Grant and all he is going through. His tale is a sad and tragic love story. As the story unfolds, there are many different twists and turns that keep you questioning the women he meets on the island. Is he just paranoid or is there a scheme or plot against him there? When the end approaches and everything comes to light, there are even more twists and turns that totally shock you. I know I thought I knew what was happening but those last few pages showed me I was completely wrong. I love when a writer can do that. Have you so convinced things are one way and then the reader is completely off base. This was a great book and I look forward to reading more of Alice’s work.