Renée Knight

She looks at it lying there facedown and still open where she left it. The book she trusted. Its first few chapters had lulled her into complacency, made her feel at ease with just the hint of a mild thrill to come, a little something to keep her reading, but no clue to what was lying in wait. It beckoned her on, lured her into its pages, further and further until she realised she was trapped. Then words ricocheted around her brain and slammed into her chest, one after another. It was as if show more a queue of people had jumped in front of a train and she, the helpless driver, was powerless to prevent the fatal collision. It was too late to put the brakes on. There was no going back. Catherine had unwittingly stumbled across herself tucked into the pages of the book.

Documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft finds a mysterious book in her house. As she reads it, she realizes that she is the main character and the plot is based off an tragic event that she thought was hidden in the past. How did this book come into her possession? Who wrote it? Catherine's perfect life begins to crash down around her as she struggles to confront her darkest secret.

There is something extremely satisfying in that idea. A fish out of water. A fish rudely introduced to a hostile environment. Will it survive? Unlikely. The sudden exposure will probably kill it. They drown, don’t. they, fish. If they’re left too long out of water. Exposure first, and then perhaps I’ll put it out of its misery.

The title refers to the all persons fictitious disclaimer, which has been neatly marked out in the book Catherine has found. I really love the premise. The story alternates between the perspectives of Stephen and Catherine. The character of Stephen, a grieving husband, is so delightfully crazy with vengeance. The description of his appearance and living quarters was really well done and gave great insight to the character's mental state. He reminded me a little bit of the father from The Dinner. Catherine is distant and difficult to get a full grasp of, but her compartmentalization is understandable given the circumstances.

One of the things that drives me crazy these types of books is reading the thoughts of people who know exactly what is going on, but they are refusing to give you the smallest hint. There is a certain point where I start getting impatient. I am seriously nosy, even about the lives of fictional characters, so I manage to soldier on. These characters talk around the issue until around the 40% mark. I really couldn't put this book down. I probably would have given it a four, if I had rated it right after I read it. As I started thinking about it, it became more of a 3 star.

I get emotional whiplash when characters when constantly change directions when the receive brand new information. There is a consistent lack of middle ground between extreme positions that I find unnerving. For example: The husband automatically accepts the book at face value. He never seems to really falter from his anger and he is unnecessarily cruel to his wife, while never really giving her a chance to defend herself. Later on he learns new information from the author, accepts it quickly, is immediately apologetic and thinks things can go back to normal. I am glad there were consequences for that situation. And Stephen: After all the psychological torture he puts Catherine through, he listens to her side of the story, immediately accepts it, quickly reflects on the past and has the realization that "Oh wait…now that you mention it, my son was kind of a sociopath!" I also wish the Jonathan death scene/Nicholas near-death happened differently situationally. Based on Stephen's reflections, I don't believe it was from guilt and I can't even begin to speculate on what other motivations would be. I wish the assault scene had been less detailed. I kind of hated Nicholas and really wanted to skim through his scenes.

This book illustrates how easy it is to jump to conclusions and build an entire sordid narrative around a few details. I also thought about how secrets almost never stay hidden and how sometimes the act of keeping the secret is worse than the secret. Catherine's comments about a woman having to "prove innocence" were also interesting and make her motivations for keeping the secret more understandable.

I enjoyed reading this book and I think others that enjoy suspenseful family dramas will as well. It is worth a library checkout! show less

People who read a lot will know what I mean. That feeling you get when you know you’re in good hands. Whether it’s structure, pacing, dialog or just great sentences, you know it when you read it. That the author understands craft and how she wants to tell the tale. Maybe how the tale wants to be told. Renee Knight knows her stuff. There’s a definite sense of deliberation and specific choices made. If I didn’t know this was a first novel, I wouldn’t have guessed, that’s how sure show more the story feels. She has a good ear for how people talk and for how a person would write a story like this. As if they’re just telling you how things went and not trying to create some huge drama or fancy sentences. It has authority and great realism in that sense. Not quite as “insider-y” as a diary, but close.

Everyone has been jumping up and down about Girl on a Train, but this book is better. The emotional response is much greater due to the sense of dread the writer imparts. I didn’t get that with Girl on a Train. Also, the characters are more distinct, they stand out sharply against the plotline. They are revealed through what they do and say, but also by how others perceive and describe them. Catherine has a direct narrative, but is also judged and evaluated by her son, husband, coworkers and, most threateningly, by Stephen Brigstocke. Oh and then there’s you, the reader and how you judge Catherine.

There are few hints that point to the real story behind the book Catherine finds and I loved how as bits are revealed, the name of the book (A Perfect Stranger) takes on different meanings. Stephen is a palpable threat and more than a little crazy. The presence of his dead wife in his life is just one aspect of the madness that drives him to “out” Catherine and destroy her life. He’s a truly poisonous character. It’s the relentlessness of the storyline that makes the ending, for me, a bit tame and flat by comparison.

Some readers complain that if Catherine had spoken up at the beginning, nothing would have happened and there would have been no story. Well duh, most books are like that. If only this then nothing that, but it’s a story, a novel and honestly I think that if Catherine hadn’t said anything for all those years, the desire to do so couldn’t have been strong. And who knows why anyone does anything? People are inscrutable and they don’t always make good decisions. I will be reading it again, more for the words and prose itself than to find out what happens, but I think it will hold up.

Later - I am listening to it again and spoiler - I don't understand how if Jonathan's mother knew he was sick, twisted and violent, why she painted such a rosy picture of him in that book. Just over compensating? Denial? show less

Catherine and Robert seem the perfect professional couple, she is a film-maker, he a lawyer. Their only son has just moved out and they have downsized to a stylish modern house in London. One day Catherine picks up a book and is shocked to discover that it is about her and the secret she has kept hidden for 20 years. As the past clashes with the present the lives of Catherine, Robert and their son Nicholas will never be the same.

This is a very clever little book. It hooks the reader with a show more fairly standard plot device of revenge and a psychopathic stalker which is entertaining and very well-written. However about three-quarters of the way in there is a huge plot twist which is somewhat unexpected and changes this to being an incredibly original story. I romped through the book as I genuinely found it gripping. OK the characters are not particularly well-developed, particularly Robert and Nicholas, but the book works on so many levels that is forgivable. show less

Jesus, this book....... It starts out strong, fascinating, and gritty. The characters and subject suck you in, and keep you from putting this book down once. What transpires, soon after, is like a cudgel to the brain, swift and painful. And then, there's that fucking twist........ Rather like having your legs kicked out from underneath you, and then kicked in the balls. Twice.

Good, strong read. Likable characters(-ish), and believable plot. I'm actually glad I was too numb from the husband's show more pain/anger, to identify more closely with the wife, or I would have been left a crushed and soaking mess of feelings, and flashbacks. Since this is my first from this author, I might just have to read another novel of hers, soon.
This book was well worth the wait for it, from the library. 4 stars. show less