Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

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"That ending!"

"That ending!"

"That ending!"

And my personal favorite, the ever-eloquent: "that ending was fucked up," though I would describe it more as absurd, outlandish, and bullocks, to use in favor of the American version of "complete bullshit." Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough is like bad sex - interesting and cryptic, but a little confusing at first; a decent enough middle to keep you powering through, but then an ending that is a complete disappointment, leaving you wishing you had just watched 20/20 instead.

Louise is a single-mom and a part-time secretary who, one night, meets a man at a bar. They talk and flirt and spark a connection fueled by alcohol and excitement, only to discover the next day their boss-secretary relationship. Then Louise meets Adele; the beautiful, luminous, mysterious, Adele, wife of The Man from The Bar. And though Louise tries in vain to stay away, she is inexplicably drawn into the lives of David and Adele, and the extremely shaky foundation on which their marriage is built. As Louise peels back the pages of their lives, there are definitely way more questions than answers, and one that you will most undoubtedly have is, "What the fuck am I reading?"

The problem with there being so much hype about the ending is that I found myself reading for the ending, and it didn't help that the story is confusedly cryptic, the dream analysis and whole Second Door business going way over my head. It is sinister and haunting, if only for the choppy way in which it's written, and the transitions aren't at all seamless, which I suppose is the point. The beginning is a bit boring, but once things start to be explained, the pages flip much faster, and then, of course, there is the infamous ending, which you either love or hate. I find it to be a bit of a cop-out; a dumbing-down of an otherwise good story. And, yes, even though it is completely unpredictable and everything a shocking twist should be, it is also the strangest way to explain it all away, and the weirdest ending to a Domestic Noir that I could ever imagine. Now it's pretty much impossible not to read this book for the ending. ⭐⭐/5 on my goodreads.

The Lion's Den by Katherine St. John

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Awhile back, my friend and fellow book-lover asked me to recommend a good thriller, and I had nothin'. The thrillers I had read were mediocre at best, and there was one I couldn't even read at all, so definitely nothing I felt worthy of slapping my recommendation on. Now, allow me to invite you into - or rather, aboard - The Lion's Den, a completely addictive, very clever, novel from Katherine St. John, an author who proves to be a real talent of the thriller genre. You'll down this dazzling debut like free-flowing rose on a hot day, the perfect read for your very un-perfect vacation, or to make you glad you didn't take one at all.

The Lion's Den is In a Dark, Dark Wood meets The Woman in Cabin 10 but with a lot more glitz, glam, and daylight, though the level of intensity and heat is the same. Summer and Belle, friends since childhood, have drifted apart over the last few years as Belle works to forge her acting career, and Summer hones her proclivity for wealthy, older men. But for Summer's birthday, Belle - along with Wendy, Claire, Amethyst, and Summer's mother and sister - has been invited aboard The Lyon's Den, a luxury yacht owned by John, Summer's latest May-December romance. Though Belle has her doubts - things that sound too good to be true usually are - she accepts, and - of course - things aren't at all what they seem and are about to get all kinds of fishy up in this boat.

Written with wit and humor and intelligence, the story is brilliantly plotted, expertly spanning one week of vacation while also covering a decade of early adulthood. So well organized and detailed is this book that the two stories manage to run parallel to each other while also heading straight on a collision course, with a slow build-up in the beginning that lures you into a false sense of thinking you know what to expect. Though the set-up, combined with the synopsis, makes one major twist a bit too obvious, the Devil is still in the details, and is followed by a smattering of twists that you absolutely do not see coming. And the way in which Belle handles these turns and navigates her precarious position is both elegant and fierce, a character to truly appreciate.

The Lion's Den is a taut thriller and an entertaining read that also engages our brains to assemble the puzzle; St. John cleverly hands us all of the pieces, deftly making every last detail invaluable, and it's ultimately very satisfying as they begin clicking into place. These are the authors you want to keep coming back to, and this is definitely a book I would want to recommend to my friend. So, here you go, Franny. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 on my goodreads.