Maggie Wilson moved to Brighton to make a fresh start…but it doesn’t seem to be working. She has no friends, no boyfriend, lives in a horrible basement flat, and the well paid job with American Express which she’s told her family about doesn’t exist. But she can hardly let on that she’s working as a stripper in a seedy bar. In short, Maggie is lost and lonely – but one day she accidentally discovers a way of eavesdropping on her neighbours Libby and David. Soon she is absorbed in their lives. Even though they are barely aware of her existence, she knows all about their secrets, their arguments and their plans for the future. When she discovers that they are planning to move to Cuba, Maggie wonders how on earth she will cope with their absence…so to her it seems obvious that the only thing to do is follow them, get to know them, and make them be her friends….
I was totally gripped by this book, and felt drawn into the story from the very first page. The narrative switches between Maggie’s point of view, told in the first person; and Libby’s point of view, told in the third person. I felt that Maggie was an utterly believeable character, and the blurring of the lines between what was real, and what Maggie saw as real, was portrayed in an all too realistic fashion. Tragic events in her past have led her to the point where she is now unable to form proper relationships with people, and she is about to learn that you can’t force people to be the kind of friend you want them to be. While she wasn’t an easy character to like, she was certainly an interesting one to read about. However, to say much more about her would be to give away too much of the story.
I felt more ambivalent towards Libby. She seemed to have a decent life, and a nice husband, yet she was never happy. But as the story progressed, she was fleshed out and became a character who I could sympathise with and like. Her husband David was also entirely believeable, as an honest and decent man, but with human flaws.
The story takes place mainly in Havana, Cuba, which I can only assume the author knows well, as she really brought the place to life. The early part of the book was set in Brighton, which was also portrayed well, but the main part of the story does not unfold until the characters reach Cuba. Maggie’s backstory unfolded gradually alongside the narrative of events that were happening at the time the story was set, and I felt that that helped the reader understand her actions, even when it was impossible to agree with them. There was a sinister undertone running throughout the story, and I did find that it was one of those books which was hard to put down. The writing flowed beautifully and at no point did I lose interest. I did think that the ending was slightly anti-climactic, but overall this was a gripping story, and I would certainly recommend this author to others.
(A quick note about the cover: I rarely comment on the covers of books, but in this instance I did feel that the cover was not really suggestive of the content. The picture was perhaps suited to something more in the chick-lit genre, which this book most certainly is not!)
(Author’s website can be found here.)
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