Here’s a book that I started reading two years ago but I didn’t think of finishing it until recently. In fact, I didn’t even know if I was ever going to finish it because of several reasons. For example, even though the cover is really intriguing and nice, the first half of the book was quite difficult for me to follow because the writing seems a little too convoluted and the story’s pacing is a little too detached. Also, some choice of words by the author seems quite complicated for what the book really is. So, I naturally have lost interest in reading it. However, recently, I spotted the book again in my bookshelf and I decided to give it another go. This time, I listened to the Audible version of it and I was glad I did because my impression of the book has now completely changed.
As you can see judging by the pictures of the book, both front and back covers, you can deduce that the book is a thriller. In fact, a psychological thriller, to be specific. The story is about Margot Lewis, an English teacher in Cambridge who runs her advice column called “Dear Amy“. One day, she receives a letter from a missing girl named Bethan Avery, asking for help because she’s been kidnapped, doesn’t know where she is, and at the danger of being killed soon. Problem is, Bethan’s been missing for twenty years and is already presumed dead. How can a missing girl be writing letters now and had a chance to send it by mail? Is it a hoax? Could it be true? Hmmm.. intriguing, right? Bethan is not the only girl who has been missing. Ever since her disappearance, there were already a couple of young girls who’d been missing around the area. Margot had a student named Katie who had also disappeared recently. Something is seriously wrong and she’s determined to find out, no matter what.
I love the interesting psychological concepts that the book was alluding to, like Dissociative Fugue, possibly MPD, and even hypnosis. As the plot unfolds and the story progresses towards the middle and ’till the end, you will find that the book is a heart-pounding experience with its own twists and turns. It completely changed my point of view especially upon listening to it via Audible because the narrator did a really good job of portraying the characters with her different accents and voice tones. Reading this book will probably still be a snoozefest, at least for me, but listening to the audiobook is a whole different story. So, I definitely recommend that you use Audible for this one.
I would love to tell you more about the story, but I would rather give you a clue: The first rule of fight club is – you do not talk about fight club. Got it?
Check out some of the psychologically thrilling books I’ve read or listened to below
