By A. J. Finn

THE DEED OF SALE POSTED YESTERDAY. My new neighbors are Alistair and Jane Russell; they paid $3.45 million for their humble abode. Google tells me that he’s a partner at a midsize consultancy, previously based in Boston. She’s untraceable—you try plugging Jane Russell into a search engine. It’s a lively neighborhood they’ve chosen. The Miller home across the street—abandon all hope, ye who enter here—is one of five townhouses that I can survey from the south-facing windows of my own. To the east…—live Henry and Lisa Wasserman, longtime residents; “Four decades and counting,” bragged Mrs. Wasserman when we moved in. She’d dropped by to tell us (“to your faces”) how much she (“and my Henry”) resented the arrival of “another yuppie clan” in what “used to be a real neighborhood.” Ed fumed. Olivia named her stuffed rabbit Yuppie. The Wassermen, as we dubbed them, haven’t spoken to me since, even though I’m on my own now, a clan unto myself.

**Spoilers**

I found this to be a very cinematic novel. Or maybe I was influenced by reading about how it had already been made into a movie starring Amy Adams. Since I approach thrillers of this type looking for the plot twists and being on guard against taking everything at face value, I had pretty much strongly suspected the reveals a good bit before they occurred. There are about 4 of them. It did not detract from my enjoyment of the book at all. I confess I did strongly suspect a few things that did not prove to be the case, however. ***major spoiler***

I really thought for a while that she was being intentionally gaslighted for some nefarious motive and that there really was no murder at all. And I thought her psychiatrist and her ex-partner were in on it! Why else would he prescribe such dangerous drugs and hallucinogens to a raging alcoholic? And upping the dosage. I still don’t really understand how he could do that. He must have known or should have. He visited her in her home for the weekly sessions, after all. he was also the one who suggested she get a tenant.**end spoiler**

I found it kind of slow at first, and I didn’t get into it right away. At one point I had to force myself to pick it up again. Remembering all of the stellar reviews and endorsements by respected authors and the fact that it was soon to be a major motion picture motivated me.

Good book! And I really enjoyed the references to all of the old movies.**3.75 out of 5 stars**

June 20, 2019