Before I let You In by Jenny Blackhurst
Genre; Psychological Crime
Karen is meant to be the one who fixes problems.
It’s her job, as a psychiatrist – and it’s always been her role as a friend.
But Jessica is different. She should be the patient, the one that Karen helps.
But she knows things about Karen. Her friends, her personal life. Things no patient should know.
And Karen is starting to wonder if she should have let her in . . .
My thoughts:
This is Jenny Blackhurst’s second novel, but the first one I have read. I was immediately drawn into it by the sinister interview of Karen after the events that we know will unfold in the book we are to read. I love books like this, that give you the answer before you even start, even if you don’t understand what that answer is or what it means. It makes everything even more intriguing and Blackhurst is very clever in the way she does this. The interview of Karen is peppered throughout the book, giving little insights, but never enough so that you know for sure what is coming, but enough to whet your appetite to keep turning the pages.
And that’s just it, it’s not a rapid page turner in the sense that there’s a ticking clock or a race against a serial killer, but, there is a sinister undertone that feeds your imagination and desire to know more and it’s this that keeps you wanting to read that one more page, that one more chapter.
The story revolves around three adult friends (as well as Karen’s patient, Jessica), Karen, Bea and Eleanor. All very different people in their own right, but friends all the same. But, each one of them holding their own personal secret – as most people do hold something of themselves back, it natural. We want to present the best of ourselves to the world and Blackhurst shows this. She has a wonderful ability to understand human frailties and relationships and uses this knowledge to weave a wonderful story of normalcy that can very easily all go so very very wrong.
A brilliant read, highly recommended.
With thanks to the author and publisher for my copy.
This book is part of a selection of books I have already agreed to review. Please note I am no longer taking on new books to review. Once agreed books have been read, I am stopping this segment due to time constraints.
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