4 out of 5 stars
On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads
How I discovered this book: the author asked me if I would like an ARC for a review/quotes, and I said yes please!
Genre: Dark family drama/'grip lit'.
The Girl In His Eyes is a disturbing family drama, told from the points of view of the three main characters: mother Suzanne, daughter Laura and father Paul. An affluent, middle-class family living in a nice area of London, their lives seem fine to their set of equally successful friends, but behind closed doors lie dark secrets of the most heinous kind.
Suzanne was a frustrating character to read about, which I am sure was intentional. Although around fifty, she behaves and thinks like a child, is emotionally dependent, and wishes to know only about her nice little world where everything is, she needs to believe, safe and discord-free. Laura, in her twenties, lives alone in a rundown flat where her life is coming to pieces, a slow unravelling that began when she was eleven or twelve—when her father started to touch her. She can't hold down a job and has no friends aside from the horribly censorious and insensitive Rachael. I thought Laura's inner thoughts were beautifully depicted, so real.
What makes this novel such a page-turner is not only the slow unfolding of the chaos within, but the clever inclusion of Paul's point of view: Paul, the handsome, well groomed and athletic fifty-three-year-old, with a penchant for young girls. This was exceptionally well done, and most disturbing without being remotely tacky. He tells himself that he is only acting on urges common to all men. Every time he feels bad, he excuses his own behaviour.
Laura's life continues to unravel as she pursues a maybe unwise solution to her debt problem—an aspect of this novel that kept me engrossed. Meanwhile, back in suburbia, Paul is asked to take a friend's daughter swimming ... and over the course of five months, the family's lives change forever.
I imagine this novel will do extremely well in this ever-popular genre of dark domestic drama; it deserves to. It is structured well, and the writing really flows. I enjoyed the first three quarters, in particular, and looked forward to opening my Kindle each time I was able to get back to it. Now and again, though, I did find the writing a little 'safe'. Also, I wasn't convinced by some of the developments in the last quarter; it all seemed too neatly tied up, particularly the choices made by Suzanne and the brother's change of heart. Other than that, though, it is a most compelling novel, and I'd most definitely recommend it to those who love well-written stories of family turmoil.
4 out of 5 stars
On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE
How I discovered this book: It was a submission to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.
This is the debut novel from Jennie Ensor, and it's one of which she should be proud. Set in mid-noughties London, it's a fairly standard spurned-lover-as-stalker plot, but with a lot more to it. Middle class marketing exec Georgie only ever wanted to be friends with Julian, but when she starts a relationship with Russian immigrant Nikolai, she discovers that she never really knew Julian at all. Alongside this storyline is the dark shadow of terrorism relating to the London bombings of the time - and Georgie's growing fears that Nikolai might be involved.
I admit to being slightly underwhelmed by the beginning; both dialogue and narrative are rather bland, with opportunities for more 'colour' missed, and, when Georgie succumbs to sex with Julian after a drunken evening, I never got the impression that she was drunk; I actually forgot she was meant to be. Happily, the pace and intrigue stepped up very quickly, and I began to really enjoy it. I thought Julian was revolting from the outset, and I didn't begin to warm to Georgie until later on; Nikolai, on the other hand, was lovely. The characterisation was very good all the way through. I cared what happened to the two main characters, which is all important.
The novel is extremely well structured, planned and edited. I particularly liked that the backstory about both Georgie and Nikolai appeared in dribs and drabs, all the way through, which kept my interest. There aren't many surprises, but certainly enough suspense to call this book a thriller, albeit quite a low-key one. But it's a love story, more than anything, I think. It's intelligently written, with much background about the war in Chechnya and Nikolai's experiences, which were shockingly fascinating and made the book so much more than just a stalker story.
I was glad that Georgie was not portrayed as a victim, though I found it unrealistic that she didn't guess, immediately, that Julian was behind threats to Nikolai, too (this isn't a spoiler, it's fairly obvious!). The only other bit that niggled me was minor - Georgie displays a shock-horror attitude when her lover suggests they go camping together, and is, apparently, ignorant of all such practices. Yet she's supposed to be a keen, fairly long distance hiker...
The ending was pleasing, though the odd surprise or revelation wouldn't have gone amiss; the last few chapters were little more than a wrapping up. I'd say that Ms Ensor is a talented writer, for sure, and I enjoyed this book. I felt that it could have done with a little bit more spark, but it's very well written, and a fine debut.
