Pages: 287
Published: 26th December 2019
Genre: General Fiction/Psychological Thriller
Content warnings: Alcoholism, suicide, sexual references
It has been 192 days, seven hours and fifteen minutes since her last drink. Now Astrid is trying to turn her life around.
Having reluctantly moved back in with her mother, in a quiet seaside town away from the temptations and painful memories of her life before, Astrid is focusing on her recovery. She is going to meetings. Confessing her misdeeds. Making amends to those she’s wronged.
But someone knows exactly what Astrid is running from. And they will not stop until she learns that some mistakes can’t be corrected.
Some mistakes, you have to pay for…
This is a book that takes the topic of alcohol dependency and uses that as the basis for everything it contains within its narrative. Using a very clear example of an unreliable narrator, it sends you deep into the mind of a flawed protagonist and creates a plot full of scattered strands, which holds itself together reasonably well until a somewhat messy conclusion.
Given the occasional tension as well as the fact that several of the characters appear to have sinister motives, it probably fits more closely into the thriller genre than any other, although psychological suspense would be a more accurate description. The dark tone and claustrophobic setting are what help to provide the atmosphere with an extra edge, even if it is missing a genuine sense of danger.
Astrid is a recovering alcoholic who has recently moved back in with her mother in the small coastal town of Flinstead, joining a local alcoholics anonymous group. She feels responsible for the death of her former boyfriend Simon, who committed suicide after being tempted back into resuming his alcohol addiction, and is determined to avoid a similar fate.
Keeping her drink problem a secret, she starts a relationship with an affluent man called Josh and agrees to create an artwork for his home, which his father Richard is refurbishing. At the AA meetings, she befriends Helen, a woman who lost her job and is struggling to rebuild her life after battling her dependency. Meanwhile, an older woman called Rosie is also taking an uncomfortable interest in Astrid.
In the weeks that follow, Astrid becomes uncertain of her surroundings as several strange incidents take place. She receives a threatening note and comes across items that bring frightening reminders of Simon, leading her to become convinced that someone is watching her and wants to take revenge for his death. As the world starts to close in on her, Astrid is forced to confront her fears.
The main focus of the story is very much on Astrid and her misshapen thoughts, which means that the plot is relatively slow moving, especially at first. Once she meets Josh and the unsettling events begin to occur, the whole thing gradually unfurls into something that is well developed and more wholesome, which makes it more intriguing even if the pace barely accelerates.
Everything is told from Astrid’s point of view, and that is the biggest strength of the book. While it is written in a way that ensures not everything she says can be taken at face value, it really excels by making her inner sense of paranoia feel so tangible that it leaves its mark on the reader. The same can be said about the many times she has the urge to drink alcohol, where she has to really force herself to abstain.
As for the other characters, Josh and Richard were the most authentic and their optimistic outlook gave the story a breath of fresh air, even if the romance perhaps moved a bit too quickly. Rosie was much more grating, and by the end it was difficult to really understand her actions or her motives, whereas Helen and Laura were both pretty flawed.
Flinstead was the setting for Lesley Kara’s previous novel and here it returns in a different light, with Astrid seeing it as a place of exile compared to the freedom of London. It is described well as an idyllic seaside town that hides all manner of social issues and sinister goings-on, and the fact that everyone to seems to know everyone else’s business makes it even more unwelcoming.
Even if it is not the most absorbing book you will ever come across, the writing is good for the most part and does a particularly effective job of making Astrid’s struggles feel very real. At times it paints a picture of helplessness and the feeling of not knowing which way to turn, and in doing so it delves deep into the subject of adverse mental health.
The main problem with the book lies with the ending, which feels rather too far-fetched. First of all, too many characters turn out to have an agenda towards Astrid, which as well as being unlikely also caused the plot to become a bit tangled. It is a good thing to have red herrings, but here they were poorly executed and that was a shame. Aside from that, there was not enough intensity for my liking, although there was good closure for the storyline involving Simon.
Overall, this book certainly succeeds with its use of perspectives and the way it highlights certain themes, creating a compelling narrative that takes place through a blurry lens. The setting also adds to the unsettling atmosphere of it all, but it would have achieved much more with better pacing and a more satisfying ending, so the end result is rather mixed.
This was a well-written book and I enjoyed a lot of it especially Astrid’s perspective. On the flipside, I did not find it hard to put down and the ending did not completely add up, so it was decent rather than exceptional.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Stephen Reads Books 