- ISBN: 9780008625610
- ISBN 10: 0008625611
About
That spring night in South London, when Isabel and Edward’s lives were torn apart.
The night Isabel learned that the worst things wait, just outside the door.
The night Edward learned that he was powerless to stop them.
The night they never talk about.
When their attacker is caught, it’s finally time to tell the story of that night.
Not to the world. Or to the man who did it. But to each other.
My Review
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book. Abigail Dean is an author whose Book Day One is on my list to read. So it was great to find out about her style of writing through her latest book The Death of Us.
A story about Edward and Isabel and how another’s actions sent their marriage into free fall. One fateful night when a predator enters their life and does appalling things to Isabel whilst Edward is tied up in another room powerless. The guilt Edward carries at not being able to help Isabel is left unspoken, neither can talk about that night, Edward thinking she blames him for leaving her to the mercy of the predator and Isabel not telling Edward what happened to her.
Buried deep these feelings slowly tear them apart and Isabel into a mental and soul destroying decline of self worth for which Edward cannot control. One night when Edward is away Isabel goes to a bar and picks up men. This is the point of no return for Edward.
The story weaves around the predator but he is not the main part of this book, it is a book about the love of two people who he destroyed and the aftermath of what he did to other families. The twist at the end you don’t see coming, but the clues were there throughout the book.
I found it difficult to warm to Isabel and Edward but that is because they are so complex, their emotions are graphic in detail. The story swings around to different years giving you the background of Edward to Isabel. It is not the sort of book that is easy to put down and pick up, it is best read in one sitting.
The story is told by Isabel so you are reading it though her eyes.
The sentences are short and to the point, because I was reading it on my mobile (which is how it was sent to me) it was sometimes difficult to see the full stop at the end of the sentence so it got a little confusing every so often. For this reason I found it didn’t flow well for me.
I have never read a story like this before, where the predator isn’t really the central storyline but Abigail Dean as produced a book that is not just thought provoking but a love story.
