Behind Her Eyes

4.5. I wanna give it 5 but there's something about it holding me back. Well, I know what the something is. I won't spoil it though because it really is something you have to read for yourself. It was unexpected but not out of the realm of the story if that makes sense. I read it in like 2 days flat. It kept me totally hooked.

It has taken me some time to figure out what I wanted to say about this book. It came out 5 years ago so I'm definitely behind on this one. I see why it was an international bestseller. It is compulsive reading, keeping you guessing the entire time. Mind games, manipulation and an ending that defies all convention. I saw another review that said Sarah (the author) slaps you in the face. That is accurate. 5 stars because I had no idea what was going on and I loved it.

guessed what happened during the last 30ish pages. The author should have left it with Adele taking Louisa's body. I honestly feel like the author had spent so much time building those three characters up that the “ending” before the last “ending” made enough sense given the supernatural/fantasy (?) plot. But Rob really didn't. I feel like the author had Rob building up and building up during the diary and the flashbacks that to just throw in the last couple pages that he's gay??? And fell in love with David?? So he took over Adele??? Like... It didn't feel right or natural. There was no mention of any of Rob's real characteristics prior. Adele taking over Louise's body. Sure! Made a lot of sense. Rob didn't quit fit. Regardless, I couldn't stop laughing the last ten pages.

Recensie van audioboek (via Storytel)
2,5 sterretjes

De ontknoping heeft het aantal sterretjes doen afnemen voor mij.

De marketing rond het einde van dit boek is goed opgezet, want dit was eigenlijk wat dit boek onder mijn aandacht bracht. Een thriller met een schokkerende twist? Ja, alsjeblieft!Van in het begin had dit boek me in zijn greep. Het is mysterieus en hypnotiserend. Ik was constant aan het proberen raden wat er nu eigenlijk aan de hand was.Ik heb het niet geraden. Maar dit heeft veel te maken met het feit dat ik niet wist wat voor boek ik las. Wanneer ik een thriller lees, dan verwacht ik een op feiten gebaseerde ontknoping. Deze kan bijzonder ongeloofwaardig zijn, maar ze is gebaseerd op onze realiteit. Het einde van dit boek niet zozeer, waardoor het inderdaad onmogelijk is om het te raden. Op zich is het echt wel goed gedaan en zo, maar het blijft moeilijk om iets "bovennatuurlijks" te aanvaarden in een boek waar je alleen "realistische" zaken verwacht.Ik was constant aan het fronsen bij de gebeurtenissen in het boek. Hoe kan die dat nu weten? Ik zat volledig op het spoor van "schizofrenie", denkend dat meerdere personages eigenlijk één en dezelfde waren. Maar neen...Dus ja, achteraf gezien was dit eigenlijk wel een goed gevonden verhaal, dat ook nog eens vlot geschreven was. Maar net doordat het niet in het typische genre past - en het klasseren in het juiste genre is een spoiler - laat dit boek een beetje een wrang smaakje na.

Near the end of the book I was annoyed. Everyone was always talking about the shocking twist in it when it was something so straightforward and predictable. I don't think a book needs to be shocking or unpredictable to be good but when it's hyped up this much it's hard not to be disappointed. The rest of the book that element aside while not a slog wasn't anything I was terribly enjoying either. I still think the bulk of it was kind of boring and that the various relationships could have been build up better.

However the very end of the book is in fact truly surprising (though not unpredictable or not foreshadowed- I definitely let my guard down after the first twist) and also made sense looking back. The other thing about it is that it partially resolved a major annoyance I was having with the book that far which is the crazy jilted woman trope with the all signs point to abusive man innocent all along and how the mc kept beating herself over the head with not trusting MEN enough because of her ex. The new ending though does have it's own uncomfortable implications but I'll leave unpacking that to someone else I enjoyed how disturbing it was for what it's worth.

One last thing I want to comment upon is certain controversial element in a thriller story which is that there is a supernatural element to the core fo the story. I cannot believe people actually complained about this considering how early on this comes in. Well not blatantly but it's obvious where it's headed. No idea why anyone would continue reading that is so bothered by this. criticizing this book for the supernatural elements is like criticizing lotr for having rings. The stories existence requires it.

Overall...readable thriller, varying degrees mediocre throughout (depending on your tolerance of straight drama nonsense) but strong last few pages. It really is the kind of book you read for the ending.

Starts off a little slow as it establishes characters and venues. I thought it was going to be a typical love story of two women vying for one man. Wow, was I wrong! It is a sci-fi thriller that you do not want to miss. Near the end, I was thinking that “The Second Door” would have been a better title. Then I finished the last two chapters...wow! The title given was perfect. A five-star rating was considered. I highly recommend this read.

The writing and character development was good, but I believe that there should be a warning that this is a supernatural fantasy story which is not based on reality or anything that could actually occur. If that was what I was expecting and had been led to purchase this book knowing that all along, I might have given it more stars.

OH YOU JUST PISSED ME AWF SO BAD if i had a physical copy of this book i'd beat the shit out of it for fun. cheers to slogging through a predictable but decent enough domestic thriller only to have it spit on you with last-minute twists that fall back on tired homophobic tropes/scare tactics. glad to see we all still hate gay men this much. i don't think i've ever been this angry at a book. sarah pinborough you flop ass bitch give me my time and energy i spent on this back

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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David and Adele have just moved to London to try to get a fresh start – she's a stay-at-home wife, gorgeous, and seemingly frail – most of all, she's deeply devoted to her husband. David's a psychiatrist who might be a bit too fond of his drink, and doesn't seem to be as devoted to Adele as she is to him. From the get-go we know there's a few things really wrong with their marriage, and you can tell that finding out just what they are (and if the drinking is really as bad as it seems) is going to be interesting, to say the least.

Louise is a single mom who needs something fun in her life – things are going well for her ex and his girlfriend, and her son is going away for a month with them. Louise doesn't have a lot going on in here life other than her son – she has pretty much one friend, a part-time job, and a social life that mainly consists of Netflix, cigarettes and wine. She's our point-of-entry character, the reason we care about anyone else in the book – she's relatable, she's fun, she's real. On a rare night out, Louise meets and kisses a man (David) who later confesses to be married and leaves.

Naturally, the next day Louise meets her new boss – David. They pledge to forget that night and move on professionally. Soon afterwards, Adele runs into Louise and a friendship develops between them – Louise carefully never admitting that she knows Adele's husband.

Yeah, up to this point, this could be the fodder for a comedy – something that Jennifer Weiner might write, but with a little more edge, and involving people in London. So maybe it's a dark Helen Fielding feel. Anyhow, Louise's relationships with each get deeper. And as that happens, the tone gets darker and darker – everyone involved has secrets, and at least two of the people in this triangle aren't who we think they are. And before you know it, you've left Women's Commercial Fiction and turned the genre corner into Crime Fiction. There is evil or madness – maybe both – at the core of this story, and it's dark. But the book never goes as far as it could into the darkness – it's careful about showing it. Just lets it out every now and then, so you know it's lurking out there.

The story is told from Adele's and Louise's perspective – with flashbacks to earlier in Adele's life. Adele clearly has some problems, but it's unclear what they really are. It's tough to know whose perspective on things is more realistic – particularly their competing ideas about David. Eventually, we start to see that one of these women is manipulating the other two in the triangle and their plans are pretty serious.

Pinborough does a masterful job of drawing you into the story, the characters, their destinies – you can't help but care, and even before things become a psychological thriller, you'll find yourself very invested into what's going on with these people and what will happen. Once things become perilous . . . forget it, you won't be able to tear yourself away from this book. I loved the tone, the character development – Louise is one of my favorite characters of 2017.

Now, for the first 290 pages I was enthralled and was about ready to call this the best thriller I've read in months – maybe years. You can understand the hype about this book – why Two Crime Writers and a Microphone devoted an episode to this book, etc. But the last 16 pages . . . I just don't know. It's impossible to really discuss these pages without defying my “no spoiler” policy. Let me put it this way, if you can swallow X – you'll dig the last 16 pages, and your jaw just might drop in the final 6. Me? I choked on X, and was fed up with the last 6. Since I finished it, I can understand what Pinborough was trying to do – and can even make a decent argument defending it. But I don't like it – and think that even the best argument in her defense is codswallop.

Behind Her Eyes is a really strong book that will grab you, keep you entertained and will give you a conclusion that you'll talk about for days (at least).

What I want to give it after the last 16 pages:
★ ★

Buuuut. . . . I think it really deserves this:
★ ★ ★ ★

This book had me hooked from the beginning and I couldn't put it down. That being said, I wish that it had continued being a straight mystery/thriller and not introduced paranormal elements. Those aspects and the ending of the book were both unrealistic and disappointing. Recommended to readers who want a thrilling ride and don't mind a paranormal resolution.