Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell

 

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).

My Thoughts:

I've been reading Lisa Jewell's books for years now, and I wholeheartedly believe that they just get better and better. Invisible Girl did not disappoint!!

This dark novel connects the dots between seemingly unrelated people - a nuclear family thrust into a new, posh neighborhood while waiting for renovations on their house; a single man in his early 30's who has difficulty connecting with the world around him, and a seventeen year old girl suffering from past trauma. When a series of sexual assaults spreads through their neighborhood, these people are forced to confront their own dark secrets and pasts.

Who is responsible for all this violence? And who kidnapped young Saffyre Maddox? The police are circling in on a suspect, but the truth may surprise you! 

I enjoyed both Jewell's writing and her strong, nuanced characters. The ending was also chilling - brrr! What a great read! 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.