In Invisible Girl, three narrators masterfully guide readers through an intriguing plot with memorable characters. We have Saffyre, a teenage girl who has not had it easy. She's been abused and orphaned, causing her to self-harm. This behavior gets her sent to see Roan Fours, a child psychologist. Her relationship with this therapist is the catalyst for a lot of the events that take place in the story. Then we have Cate, a naive, hardworking mother of two and the wife of Roan Fours. She spends her days taking care of the house and making sure dinner is ready for her husband when he gets home, whenever that might be. Every part of her identity seems to be wrapped up in her role as doting wife and mother. Finally, there's Owen. (Oh, Owen!) He's a 33 year-old bachelor who lives in his aunt's spare bedroom which is situated across the street from the Fours family's apartment. He teaches coding to teenagers at a local school and is unique in that he is a virgin. Owen's life is upended when students at his school accuse him of sexually inappropriate behavior. He is pretty sure he is innocent, but he doesn't exactly remember the night in question, so that's a problem. The accusations light a fire in Owen and kick off a series of cringe-worthy attempts to reinvent himself.When Saffyre suddenly goes missing after last being seen talking to Owen outside of the Fours family home, an investigation ensues. At the same time, a series of sexual assaults are being committed throughout the neighborhood. Everyone is on high alert, especially Cate, who fears for her teenage daughter's safety. She sees Owen as the creepy, lurking predator across the street and sends the police his way. Owen has had a lot of time on his hands since being out of work and has not used that time productively. In fact, a lot of his choices end up making him look quite guilty when it comes to new accusations being made against him. Owen claims to be innocent, but (yet again) cannot completely remember what happened the night that Saffyre disappeared. Even though Owen seems to fit the requirements of a sexual predator, Cate isn't quite sure if he actually is the culprit behind these crimes. After all, there's a lot of unanswered questions she has, such as why was Saffyre, her husband's former patient, standing outside of their home the night she went missing? Where was her husband when the girl disappeared?
While I enjoyed this book, I did have a few critiques that kept this from being 5 stars. First of all, Cate's naivety was really quite annoying. She had every right to question her husband about her concerns, but she was worried that would make her seem too "crazy." I sympathized with her for the first half of the novel and then after that, I was just mad that she wouldn't stand up for herself. Secondly, the ending felt too rushed. After spending so much time building up to the climax, it felt like everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow in just a few pages. I wanted some more explanation regarding the resolution to the sexual assaults especially because without it, I'm just not fully buying into the last twist. It just seems really unlikely as it was presented.
Overall, the plot of Invisible Girl is really engrossing. I read the book in just a few sittings. The story is fast paced and suspenseful. There are twists that will keep you guessing. Some of the characters, Owen especially, are very original, which is refreshing when you read a lot of mysteries that all seem to recycle the same kinds of characters over and over again. This book will surely not disappoint and makes a great summer read. If you've enjoyed any of Lisa Jewell's previous works, the chances are you'll enjoy this one as well.
My Rating: ★★★★☆
At the time of this post, this title is set to be released on October 13, 2020.
*Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!
No comments:
Post a Comment