Welcome to my first spoiler post. Just a warning, do not read past the book synopsis if you don’t want spoilers for the ending and other things that happen in this book.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
About the Book:
As a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, Naomi has found it hard to avoid becoming overly invested in her clients’ lives. But after helping Jacob make the decision to leave his wife, Naomi worries that she’s taken things too far. Then Jacob goes missing, and her files on him vanish. . . .
But as the police start asking questions about Jacob, Naomi’s own dark past emerges. And as the truth comes to light, it seems that it’s not just her clients who are in danger.
Spoilers Below:
So Naomi and her husband Leon live on an estate. Naomi, who is a TERRIBLE therapist, works out of an outbuilding, and Jacob does some sort of job organizing events/concerts/fundraising (maybe? I didn’t really pay that close of attention but he was gone occasionally and was always super busy arranging this big event)
Naomi has two clients that we meet: Jacob is the main one, he is being abused by his wife or so he says. Naomi and Leon have this other apartment/condo that they are planning to start renting out, Naomi wants to offer it to Jacob but Leon doesn’t want her to get so involved with her clients. So she just gives him the keys to move in and doesn’t tell Leon. Jacob’s file goes missing.
Her other client is Anna. She is having problems dealing with the grief after losing her son, and her marriage is strained because of it.
Jacob calls Naomi and says his wife has found him, she meets him at the bar of a hotel where she once worked. They both have a lot to drink and he hits on her, she refuses but they are really touchy feely with each other, so she knows a line has been crossed (really? after all of the other lines crossed, that’s where she feels guilty)
The next day, the police come and say Jacob’s wife has reported him missing. They go to the apartment and find a bloody footprint and other blood. Naomi also goes to the apartment and investigates before the police go there, talks to a neighbor. Then she lies to the police and say she hasn’t been there. She can’t get in touch with Jacob. She goes to the hotel and cons her old friend to let her see the security footage. On it, she sees that Leon was also at the bar that night so he knew there was more to the story than what she was telling. She erases the footage. The police suspect that Naomi has something to do with it since she was there. She continues to deny things to the police, never has a lawyer or anything.
Naomi has a “past” where her father was put in prison for killing her mother. She has a sister Jennifer with whom she is estranged, after their father went to prison when they were children they ended up being split up despite what Naomi promised.
This is where it all gets really confusing. Apparently Jacob’s name isn’t really Jacob, it’s Michael. And Anna is named Vanessa, and the two are married to each other. So who is telling the truth?
During the big event/concert Leon is hosting, Naomi goes out to the barn and discovers Jacob/Michael tied up and held hostage. He says Anna/Vanessa did it. Vanessa shows up and says that Michael is the one who was abusive. A skirmish follows and Naomi thinks Vanessa is shot and killed as she falls into the abandoned swimming pool, yet it turns out that it is Michael who has been killed.
It is possible that Anna/Vanessa is actually Naomi’s sister Jennifer, out to seek revenge for Naomi’s abandonment. There are hints dropped but they never come right out and say that it actually is Jennifer.
In the end, the bloody footprint was set up by A/V/J and Naomi is finally believed that she didn’t do it because the shoes AVJ stole to make the print are Naomi’s dead mother’s shoes and not Naomi’s size. It is also revealed that although Michael blamed himself for the son’s death and AVJ blamed him for not locking the door, it was actually AVJ’s fault because she was having an affair and left the door unlocked herself.
So…those are the main spoilers. There are probably some things I got wrong because I honestly stopped paying super close attention due to not liking any of the characters.
Who is Kyle?!? Were we supposed to know him when the author brought him up at the end? Seemed like she wrote herself into a corner and needed to invent a character to get out of it.
Exactly! I was wondering who on earth this person was, wondered if I had missed something along the way!
I thought that maybe Anna/Vanessa/Jennifer was Naomi’s sister who now has a split personality disorder. I can’t believe it was never resolved. It was hinted it was Jennifer but never resolved. How could it end that way?? Who tied up Michael up? How could A/V/J manage that?? The book was on a roll and then ended so poorly!! OH WELL.
I think that is probably possible. Someone else said they thought maybe the same thing. I like resolution too so it was definitely frustrating when it wasn’t resolved.
I agree entirely. She is the worst therapist EVER. I guess I kinda get that she thinks she just wants to help – but wouldn’t that be true for all her clients? So then how do you personally pull them all out of their troubles? And I like a good secret as well as the next person, but the lying in this was off the charts. Definitely not a fave read of the year.
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
I completely agree!
As a neuropsychologist who also provides therapy this Naomi was so unprofessional and did not understand herself at all. Were they saying her dad only stabbed her mother to death in self defense but her testimony alone sent him to jail to punish him for the abuse? And she blamed herself as did her sister bc Jennifer was adopted? I was pissed at the end of the book bc so much was unresolved.
As a former Psychologist, I was convinced that this story was told from the perspective of an alter ,the storyline fits perfectly with her havi ng a diagnosis of DID. Her mother’s memory being so “perfect” speaks clearly of an alter of protection. Missing time, history of trauma, not recognizing people, it all fits. Very disappointed the ending did not speak to that!