Review:
Alicia Berenson seemed to have a perfect life. She was a famous painter, and her husband Gabriel was a successful photographer. Her husband adored and supported her, and everyone seemed convinced that they loved each other. But if that was the case, then why did Alicia shoot her husband in the face five times when he came home late one evening, and why did she then slash her own wrists? Although Alicia's life was saved, she refused to say another word after that night.
Theo, a psychotherapist, is obsessed with Alicia's case. He's determined to find out what happened the night Gabriel died, and sure that he can help Alicia. However, Theo has his own issues: marital problems, as well as emotional scars from abuse he suffered at the hands of his father when he was a child. Is he perhaps growing too close to Alicia, seeing too much of himself in her?
This started off decently. I, too, wanted to know what happened the night Gabriel died, and why Alicia refused to speak. It helped that I liked the narration - Louise Brealey captured Alicia's fragility nicely, and Jack Hawkins was good as Theo.
However, this rapidly turned into one of those thrillers where all the characters are terrible in some way. Just about all of the therapists in this book had no idea what the word "ethics" meant or why it should possibly apply to them. Although I started off feeling sympathetic towards Theo, the way he maneuvered himself into Alicia's treatment and dealt with his concerns about his wife's possible cheating rubbed me the wrong way.
The book completely fell apart at the end. I was actually expecting some of what happened, but the way the author accomplished it annoyed me.
The audiobook included an interview with the author that I didn't bother to listen to because my checkout period was about to expire.
Yeah, I didn't like this book either. The local book club discussed it about a year and a half ago.
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