This was unsettling, claustrophobic, and kept me hooked despite a few minor hiccups. The story leans heavily on slow burn details so if you’re not into character-driven, day-by-day storytelling, it might feel drawn out. If you like character-driven psychological thrillers and don’t mind a story that takes its time to build tension, check it out. 

 

Energy: Dark. Intense. Brooding. 

 

🐕 Howls: The prologue gave away too much—if you haven’t started yet, skip it! It made so many things predictable that I would have preferred to be surprised by. I preferred the text over audio (the Netflix-style excerpts were narrated too fake in the audiobook).

 

🐩 Tail Wags: The push-pull dynamic between the two main characters (one character pushing boundaries relentlessly, the other too polite to push back). Show-not-tell style of piecing together the truth, making predictions. The “situationship” friendship is so well-written. The little “wait, what?” moments dropped throughout. 

 

Scene: 🇬🇧 North London, UK

Perspective: A podcaster with two young kids having trouble with a spouse who is drinking too much and disappearing for nights at a time. A parent with two grown kids reflecting on their life and how they ended up where they are. On their 45th birthday they decide it’s time for a change. 

Timeline: Mostly in summer from June to July 2019. Fast forwards to October 2020 and March 2022.

🔥 Fuel: What is going on with Alix’s and Josie’s husbands? What’s the situation with Josie’s daughters? Who are the victims the documentary keeps referring to? What is it Josie wants to reveal to Alix? Who can we trust? 

📖 Cred: Realistic; truth is stranger than fiction believable.  

 

Guest room. Awkward dinner party. Dog shit. Benders. Rumbling bus. Pomchi. Liquefied leftovers. Dust& body spray. Inky summer sky. Rainy days. 

 

Content Heads-Up: Abusive parent (toward adult child, recall of childhood). Adult/minor relationship, marriage. Alcohol abuse (black outs, binge drinking). Death. Domestic violence. Drugging. Infidelity (discussion, suspected). Kidnapping. Kleptomania. Loss of parent. Loss of romantic partner. Misandry. Murder. Narcissism. Obsession, manipulation, stalking. Pandemic restrictions (brief recall). Panic attack (brief). Personality disorder/psychopathy. Teen sexual abuse, incest (accusations). Toxic feminism. Toxic parent. 

 

Rep: British. Cis. Hetero. Lesbian. Freckled and pale skin tones. Oppositional defiant disorder. Autism spectrum disorder

 

📚 Format: Kindle