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xaleah's review against another edition
3.0
This was one of two Joy Fielding books that I have read and for some reason I was not able to really enjoy either of them. Probably will not read another.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
3 STARS
"Lynn Schuster is expecting a visit from a man named Marc, a man she has never met but with whom she has something in common--her husband and his wife have just run off together. Marc has called to say there are "things she should know". But when they meet, neither of them is prepared for the powerful sexual attraction they feel." (From Amazon)
A weird but good suspense novel. Weird in the sense that you feel like something is off from the beginning and you are not sure of what you feel though.
"Lynn Schuster is expecting a visit from a man named Marc, a man she has never met but with whom she has something in common--her husband and his wife have just run off together. Marc has called to say there are "things she should know". But when they meet, neither of them is prepared for the powerful sexual attraction they feel." (From Amazon)
A weird but good suspense novel. Weird in the sense that you feel like something is off from the beginning and you are not sure of what you feel though.
housedesignerking's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Well. What a book!
Joy Fielding sculpted together a story with two main characters. As a writer myself, I can definitely see the allure to write for two characters at once.
Lynn Schuster is a soon to be divorced woman who's nearly 40 years old. Her husband Gary has left her because he cheated on her with a woman named Suzette Cameron. Lynn and Gary have two children; Megan and Nicholas. It gets complicated when Suzette's husband Marc,, the other injured party, reaches out to her because he thinks there is stuff she should know and he wants to meet the other person who's been cheated on.
Then there's Renee Bower, who happens to be Lynn's attorney, is in her early 40s, suffers from some self-image problems while being married to a man named Phillip who is described as basically hot as hell. He's basically the talk at the water cooler and at parties and Renee is -- in some ways -- the envy of women all around. Renee is sadly also the only person who doesn't seem to know about her husband's other women. On top of that, she is a stepmother to a teenage girl called Debbie who refuses to call her Renee (pronounced like beanie) and instead insists on calling her Reneé. Debbie doesn't respect her stepmother because she looks up to her domineering and -- as it eventually revealed -- egotistical as well as emotionally and mentally abusive father. If that don't beat all, Renee's sister Kathryn is also flying in from New York to be with family after a suicide attempt. Definitely a lot going on here.
'See Jane Run' (by this same author) is edge-of-your-seat thriller, and 'The Deep End' was part thriller, part mystery. I decided for my third read of Fielding's books, I would go in blindly, completely. Since I loved the former and relatively enjoyed the latter, I began reading this without even reading the description. It's a drama which was unexpected. Personally, I couldn't stand Phillip, eventually. He reminded me of one of my exes. Debbie is a spoiled brat rich kid who's basically in love with her father and has a fetish for joining her father in being abusive to Renee; Kathryn is alright and her side character status reminds me something of Princess Margaret in Netflix's 'The Crown;' Megan and Nicholas are such small characters that I really don't have an opinion of them; and Marc's sexual and romantic interest in Lynncame across as transference, unhealthy, and a bit alarming, at the beginning and at the end.
Honestly, going into this blindly was definitely worth it. Fielding put something together where you're not totally sure where everything is going, whether or not you're going to like it so your rating kind of teeters during as you wonder the relevance of this or that, and then ultimately brings everything together with exciting climaxes. It's fun to watch it unfold.
I really enjoyed this one. 4 stars.
There's only one plot hole: how did Marc get Lynn's phone number?
Joy Fielding sculpted together a story with two main characters. As a writer myself, I can definitely see the allure to write for two characters at once.
Lynn Schuster is a soon to be divorced woman who's nearly 40 years old. Her husband Gary has left her because he cheated on her with a woman named Suzette Cameron. Lynn and Gary have two children; Megan and Nicholas. It gets complicated when Suzette's husband Marc,, the other injured party, reaches out to her because he thinks there is stuff she should know and he wants to meet the other person who's been cheated on.
Then there's Renee Bower, who happens to be Lynn's attorney, is in her early 40s, suffers from some self-image problems while being married to a man named Phillip who is described as basically hot as hell. He's basically the talk at the water cooler and at parties and Renee is -- in some ways -- the envy of women all around. Renee is sadly also the only person who doesn't seem to know about her husband's other women. On top of that, she is a stepmother to a teenage girl called Debbie who refuses to call her Renee (pronounced like beanie) and instead insists on calling her Reneé. Debbie doesn't respect her stepmother because she looks up to her domineering and -- as it eventually revealed -- egotistical as well as emotionally and mentally abusive father. If that don't beat all, Renee's sister Kathryn is also flying in from New York to be with family after a suicide attempt. Definitely a lot going on here.
'See Jane Run' (by this same author) is edge-of-your-seat thriller, and 'The Deep End' was part thriller, part mystery. I decided for my third read of Fielding's books, I would go in blindly, completely. Since I loved the former and relatively enjoyed the latter, I began reading this without even reading the description. It's a drama which was unexpected. Personally, I couldn't stand Phillip, eventually. He reminded me of one of my exes. Debbie is a spoiled brat rich kid who's basically in love with her father and has a fetish for joining her father in being abusive to Renee; Kathryn is alright and her side character status reminds me something of Princess Margaret in Netflix's 'The Crown;' Megan and Nicholas are such small characters that I really don't have an opinion of them; and Marc's sexual and romantic interest in Lynncame across as transference, unhealthy, and a bit alarming, at the beginning and at the end.
Honestly, going into this blindly was definitely worth it. Fielding put something together where you're not totally sure where everything is going, whether or not you're going to like it so your rating kind of teeters during as you wonder the relevance of this or that, and then ultimately brings everything together with exciting climaxes. It's fun to watch it unfold.
I really enjoyed this one. 4 stars.
There's only one plot hole: how did Marc get Lynn's phone number?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexism, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cursing, Self harm, Infidelity, and Suicide attempt
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