This is the latest offering from acclaimed author B.A. Paris, a Franco-British writer of mostly psychological thrillers.
Iris and Gabriel have just arrived home from a much-needed holiday, and they find one of their dearest friends, Laure, in their house. Laure explains she has left her husband, Pierre, over his confession of having a secret child from an affair. Laure declares she just needs a place to stay for a short while to get herself sorted, but when weeks go by with her incessantly conversing about her predicament and showing no signs that she’s intending to leave, the atmosphere in the house becomes tense. Laure oversteps her boundaries by sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris’ clothes, and even rearranging the furniture. When Iris meets the new couple in town, she and Gabriel get some relief from Laure by leaving the house more often. The new couple’s gardener, Joseph, is looking for additional work and soon begins helping Gabriel in his wall garden. Joseph is a handsome man, and he soon catches the eye of both Laure, who’s in a vulnerable state, and Iris, whose marriage is suffering. Everyone is carrying secrets from their pasts, and all of them are more dangerously connected than they ever could have known.
The story is a slow-burn family drama thriller. There are a lot of marital issues dealt with in the novel, including infidelity, spousal neglect, infertility, and even abortion. Despite all their problems, Iris and Gabriel are still able to regularly confide in each other and work as a team. Consequently, listeners will likely empathize with them throughout. Most of the significant events happen in the second half of the novel, and listeners have to be patient to discover the true merit of this book. The story culminates with an exciting ending full of revelations, so being patient is worthwhile. With few significant events occurring in the first half, this is most certainly a novel where an effective narrator is essential for keeping listeners engaged.
Narrator Emily Joyce is a wise choice in this regard, as she is not only extremely convincing when portraying the characters and their different voices and accents, but she also displays great talent in maintaining a suspenseful and engrossing atmosphere throughout. For those patient listeners that enjoy a slow-burn suspenseful family drama with worthwhile surprises at the very end, this one is for you!
