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A review by cassiealexandra
How Can I Help You by Laura Sims
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Margo has been working at a small-town public library for a couple of years. She left her previous job as a nurse in a bigger city and abandoned her life and name. She gets along with her coworkers and enjoys the purpose in her daily activities, all until a new reference librarian is hired. Patricia never thought she'd really become a librarian; she was certain she'd be a novelist. But fresh from rejection, she is also starting a new life and becomes suspicious of, even obsessed, with Margo's past.
I liked the dual point of view and two incredibly unreliable narrators in this thriller. I also appreciated the short length. As a former library assistant, I am a sucker for library settings. I recognized some of my own experiences with library patrons (good, bad, and ugly) in this book. I am used to and enjoy being surprised in my thriller reads, and this one was not that. This one revealed a lot about each of the characters from the beginning. There wasn't a lot to guess at or discover along the way. It was much more of a character-driven game of cat and mouse, which I think would be wonderful for some readers, and was not as suited to my taste. I also struggled with the pacing. While I liked how quick of a read this was, the fact that sometimes one voice would sometimes repeat the same scene from the other woman's point of view was frustrating and didn't serve to move the plot ahead. I understand why it was written that way though, and again, I think I am just not the right audience for a character-driven thriller. I also think that I would have liked to see more information and background on both pasts and what shaped these women into the people they were in this moment in time.
Overall, I think if I had come into this knowing it was more character than plot, I would have had a better experience.
I liked the dual point of view and two incredibly unreliable narrators in this thriller. I also appreciated the short length. As a former library assistant, I am a sucker for library settings. I recognized some of my own experiences with library patrons (good, bad, and ugly) in this book. I am used to and enjoy being surprised in my thriller reads, and this one was not that. This one revealed a lot about each of the characters from the beginning. There wasn't a lot to guess at or discover along the way. It was much more of a character-driven game of cat and mouse, which I think would be wonderful for some readers, and was not as suited to my taste. I also struggled with the pacing. While I liked how quick of a read this was, the fact that sometimes one voice would sometimes repeat the same scene from the other woman's point of view was frustrating and didn't serve to move the plot ahead. I understand why it was written that way though, and again, I think I am just not the right audience for a character-driven thriller. I also think that I would have liked to see more information and background on both pasts and what shaped these women into the people they were in this moment in time.
Overall, I think if I had come into this knowing it was more character than plot, I would have had a better experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual content