Darkly thrilling and suspenseful tale about people you might recognize.
Cate and Roan Fours, their two teen-aged children, and their neighbor Owen Pick aren’t particularly likable. Despite this, author Lisa Jewell manages to weave a story around them that’s a compelling page-turner in her novel, Invisible Girl.
The girl in this case is Saffyre Maddox, a 17-year-old who at the start of the book has just ended her stint as a patient of child psychologist Roan Fours. When Saffyre disappears unexpectedly, the Fours family, along with law enforcement and most of the people who live in their pretentious London borough, immediately suspect the vaguely creepy and unmarried neighbor Owen, who lives with his elderly aunt.
As the story unfolds, we learn more about the struggles and secrets that each of these people is living with, and gradually and expertly – thanks to Jewell’s plotting and character development – these lives become intertwined.
Invisible Girl, in particular, was not recommended to me, but a good friend said this: Read anything by Lisa Jewell! I started with The Family Upstairs, and after finishing this second title, Invisible Girl, I was struck by the author’s ability to make me care about her characters and impressed with the way she fit them into her plots without forcing them. Next on my list is Jewell’s Then She Was Gone. I don’t know if I’ll enjoy all of Jewell’s work, but I’m pleased to report that she has written more than twenty novels.
