Review: Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell
About the Book
The author of the “rich, dark, and intricately twisted” (Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author) The Family Upstairs returns with another taut and white-knuckled thriller following a group of people whose lives shockingly intersect when a young woman disappears.
Owen Pick’s life is falling apart.
In his thirties, a virgin, and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a geography teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct, which he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel—involuntary celibate—forums, where he meets the charismatic, mysterious, and sinister Bryn.
Across the street from Owen lives the Fours family, headed by mom Cate, a physiotherapist, and dad Roan, a child psychologist. But the Fours family have a bad feeling about their neighbor Owen. He’s a bit creepy and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night.
Meanwhile, young Saffyre Maddox spent three years as a patient of Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned when their therapy ends, she searches for other ways to maintain her connection with him, following him in the shadows and learning more than she wanted to know about Roan and his family. Then, on Valentine’s night, Saffyre Maddox disappears—and the last person to see her alive is Owen Pick.
With evocative, vivid, and unputdownable prose and plenty of disturbing twists and turns, Jewell’s latest thriller is another “haunting, atmospheric, stay-up-way-too-late read” (Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author).
Review
I'm a fan of Lisa Jewell's novels. Whenever I see a new one coming out I check the blurb and add it to my "most anticipated reads" list. I went into Invisible Girl excited for a thrilling read, and while it delivered in many ways, it also fell a little short as well.
The story was told in a multi POV fashion, and in three parts (before, after, now). There were a lot of interesting characters- good, sketchy, flawed, or misunderstood- and there was a lot going on with each of them.
While I found the characterization was good, it was the pacing that I found moved too slow. I wanted to skim read some chapters, and so I did. Still, I remained interested in the outcome, and I quite enjoyed how everything came together. I didn't expect it to end the way it did, and I liked that.
If you're in the mood for something DARK and twisty (see note below on triggers, this book has tons) this weekend, check out Invisible Girl. It wasn't my favourite of Jewell's thrillers but it was a good read.
*TW/CW: sexual assault; self-harm; incels; abuse; harassment
**Complimentary copy for review provided by Simon & Schuster Canada. All opinions expressed here are honest and entirely my own.
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About the Author
Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including The Family Upstairs and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold over 5 million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into twenty-nine languages. Connect with her on Twitter @LisaJewellUK, on Instagram @LisaJewellUK, and on Facebook @LisaJewellOfficial.
