The Liar’s Room by Simon Lelic

This book was advertised for fans of Alfred Hitchcock – how could I pass up a read like that?!

Thank you Berkley Books for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Adam walks into his new therapist’s office in search for some answers. His therapist Susanna has no idea what’s in store for her. An event in Susanna’s past is slowly coming back to haunt her more than ever. Adam has news for Susanna that she’s not ready to recieve. And, most of all, Susanna’s daughter’s life is at stake. Can Susanna save her? What does Adam have to tell her? What information is Adam in search for?

I was trying to predict the twist the entire time I was reading it. I really thought it was pretty obvious…but I was wrong and couldn’t be happier. I love when I can’t predict the twist! I felt the ending was a bit rushed after the book spent so much time leading up to such a dramatic finale. It is intense! Some features of this story were a little dark for my taste, but it adds to the suspense and the edge-of-your-seat feeling. It was an enjoyable read, but I wouldn’t find myself reading it again because it was so profound the first time around.

4/5 Stars

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I finally got my hands on this one – it’s been talked about all over the place!

Eleanor is a 30 year old woman who is on the spectrum. She is a quirky lady who works in an office setting. She keeps the same schedule each week, up until she meets Raymond from the IT department. Things seem to change for her – together they come across an elderly man named Sam who falls on the street. They start to care for him in the hospital and it’s the most interaction Eleanor has had in awhile. These new interactions start to bring up Eleanor’s deep dark past of her family history, why she’s jumped from house to house as a child, why she has the scar on her face, and why her relationship with her mother is the way it is.

I feel terrible to say this, but I just couldn’t get into the story. I usually love mental illness books, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around this one. It’s a dark book, and most people seem to pour out all their emotions because of it, but I was bored. I really wasn’t entertained by the side humor throughout and stopped reading it a couple of the times throughout. The ending was beautiful, but I could’ve DNF’d this one multiple times.

2/5 Stars