Author: Gilly Macmillan
Series: -
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Release: 2015
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 512
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BLURB:
In her enthralling debut, Gilly Macmillan explores a mother’s search for her missing son, weaving a taut psychological thriller as gripping and skillful as The Girl on the Train and The Guilty One.
In a heartbeat, everything changes…
Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It’s an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry—until Ben vanishes.
Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel, already insecure after her recent divorce, feels herself coming undone. As hours and then days pass without a sign of Ben, everyone who knew him is called into question, from Rachel’s newly married ex-husband to her mother-of-the-year sister. Inevitably, media attention focuses on Rachel too, and the public’s attitude toward her begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.
As she desperately pieces together the threadbare clues, Rachel realizes that nothing is quite as she imagined it to be, not even her own judgment. And the greatest dangers may lie not in the anonymous strangers of every parent’s nightmares, but behind the familiar smiles of those she trusts the most.
Where is Ben? The clock is ticking...
EXPECTATIONS: I think I got this book as recommendation from booktube, unfortunately I have not read the blurb before going into as the comparison to the Girl on the train would have been a big red flag to me...anyways yeah...my need for thrillers sometimes ends really bad.
THE WORLD: Just like the ordinary boring world we all live in. Rachel is a recently divorces mother raising her son Ben alone. Her ex husband is now married to a younger prettier girl blah blah. Typical middle age crisis. And then we have creepy aunt aka sister of Rachel who is just wrong in the head but yeah...let's talk about it in characters area more. All in all this world felt sad and made me totally depressed and disappointed in people...just like The Girl on the Train. I really need to stop reading about pathetic people.
CHARACTERS: Okay so let's start with Rachel - Ben's mom. She is depressed, her husband left her for younger more beautiful women, she is now obsessed with her to the point where she actually goes to their appartment and shouts why she stole her husband...pretty much middle age crisis says it all. When Ben goes missing it of course gets much worse. The thing is there is this huge website where people discuss missing Ben case and they starts pointing fingers at Rachel, like really nasty stuff and when Rachel finds out...yeah well I think you can imagine. There is a lot of self pity, disgusting behavior of society and all that in this book. Then of course there is the father of the year who is just...well you kinda want to dislike his at first but then you realize Rachel is impossible person to be around so you start thinking that okay maybe he left her for a reason but then again did he leave her because he could not stand her or because he needed a younger girl by his side to feel like a man. And yes then the crazy creepy aunt. I am not gonna spoil you anything but let me just say that her mind is completely messed up. If I met a person like this I would run away without looking back. She is seriously seriously nuts. And the excuses we get for her being that way...I am not buying it. She should be locked up. End of story. The nutcase is crazy dangerous.
ROMANCE: Middle age crisis if I may say. You would think Rachel is messed up because she loves her husband that left her and Ben who goes missing...well nope. Rachel is not messed up because the love of her life left her, she is messed up because she is pissed at her husband having enough of her. No love here. And Ben? So she is not messed up because motherly love...no she is messed up because you see she thinks she is bad mother...this is so so crazy. Everybody cares only and I am serious only about themselves. The rest can go to hell. So no, no romance I guess.
GOOD: I really liked this website online, it was just such an everyday life. I mean if you ever read comments under articles, frankly doesn't even matter what articles, all the comments are exactly what Rachel was reading online. It was just purely nasty, people love to hate. And sadly this is a perfect representation of our everyday life too. Hashtags on twitter, articles on facebook...even news websites...it is all the same, people love saying nasty things about others. I told you, this book is pathetic but it is a good representation of actual world.
BAD: I think for me it was too real. I don't have such pathetic depressive people in my life yet, and I am saying yet because who knows how it will be when I hit middle age crisis but so far this is too realistic and too crazy horrible to enjoy.
OVERALL: If you liked The Girl on the Train then you will definitely love this one. But if you didn't trust me, stay away from this book.
What do you think about WHAT SHE KNEW?
