About The Book
You are inside.
With your husband and baby. Your life warm and calm and untroubled.
I am outside.
Alone. Looking in. Watching you.
You have all I ever wanted.
Now it’s time for you to share.
My Review
When I read the synopsis for this novel I expected it to be similar to my usual type of book but it was a little bit different. Yes there was a criminal element but this was more about the characters, the small family whose lives are disrupted by Anna. And their realisation that she wasn’t really who she said she was.
Most of the novel was told by Emily’s point of view. Her concerns over her job, made worse by her marriage to Simon, who worked in the same school. Her guilt about drinking too much whilst accepting that it helped her cope. She becomes increasingly reliant on Anna, not realising that little was as it seemed. I wasn’t that keen on her until I got to know more about Anna.
In the second part of the novel the narrative switches and the reader starts to realise exactly who Anna was and the lengths she was prepared to go to so she could get what she wanted. There wasn’t that much focus on her but I found it just enough. I could see her determination, but also her weakness and her loneliness.
Whilst this wasn’t a novel where I had strong feelings about the characters, with the exception of Simon who I detested almost immediately, I did have some sympathy for both Emily and Anna. I could see both points of view and understand to some degree why they reacted the way they did at certain points. I would definitely be interested in a sequel to this book, but in many ways it was the perfect ending. This novel was a slight departure from my comfort zone but it was one I enjoyed
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