Ratings23
Average rating3.4
From the author of Looker comes this “compulsive and unforgettable novel” (Mona Awad) of razor-sharp suspense about two local librarians whose lives become dangerously intertwined. No one knows Margo’s real name. Her colleagues and patrons at a small-town public library only know her middle-aged normalcy, congeniality, and charm. They have no reason to suspect that she is, in fact, a former nurse with a trail of countless premature deaths in her wake. She has turned a new page, so to speak, and the library is her sanctuary, a place to quell old urges. That is, at least, until Patricia, a recent graduate and failed novelist, joins the library staff. Patricia quickly notices Margo’s subtly sinister edge, and watches her carefully. When a patron’s death in the library bathroom gives her a hint of Margo’s mysterious past, Patricia can’t resist digging deeper—even as this new fixation becomes all-consuming. Taut and compelling, How Can I Help You explores the dark side of human nature and the dangerous pull of artistic obsession as these “transfixing dual female narrators” (Kimberly McCreight) hurtle toward a stunning climax.
Reviews with the most likes.
Joe Goldberg from You, you are not. Very slow pacing with minimal payoff, but I did enjoy the inclusion of day to day mundane minutia and attention to the 9-5 work cycle. But having worked for public and state libraries as well as currently being a university librarian, I did enjoy all the librarian jargon and environment.
This one was a generally pleasant read if a little repetitive at times, would have been a 4 stars read for me if style hadn't made the ending just sort of fizzle out.