The Introverted Bookmark: February 2022

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

by Darby Kane

Publication Date: Dec 28 2021
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 416
ISBN: 9780063119680
Genre: Thriller | Suspense | Psychological
Source: Library

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Synopsis: Elisa is desperately trying to put her life back together after a horrific accident. She tries to avoid the past trauma and horrible memories by being a devoted wife and attentive mother. They live in a quiet idyllic town on the outskirts of the city and are well-known members of the community.

Not only is Elisa trying to put her life back together following the trauma of the past, but she is also desperate to find her missing friend, Abby, who also happens to be her brother-in-law's fiance. Abby has been missing for several months and the police have ruled her disappearance as a runaway and believe nothing sinister happened. Elisa won't let it go and begins snooping around trying to figure out where Abby went but as she unlocks clues about her family's past, she begins to realize that she doesn't like what she finds. All signs point to Josh being a murderer, after all, he has one dead wife and a missing fiance. Then enters Rachel, Josh's new girlfriend. Elisa is appalled that Josh would begin dating so quickly after Abby's disappearance and she decides that Rachel is really in danger and she will stop at nothing to protect her from Josh's womanizing/murderous ways.

Review: This book is such a head trip. The entire time I kept saying out loud, "What is happening?!" because it's so hard to wrap your brain around what is going on. The narrator is unreliable so the entire story is told from her distorted view which makes your head spin.

This entire book is filled with manipulation, gaslighting, lies, and delusions. It's absolutely perfect at making you question everything. I can't even adequately describe the amount of gaslighting in this book - it made me stop multiple times and question whether the narrator was becoming unhinged or if she was being manipulated.

“That’s how grief works. Grief, depression, trauma. They overwhelm. They’re louder than the good things happening in your life. You can’t compartmentalize the darker aspects and put them in a box and think they won’t leach into the rest of your life.”
― Darby Kane, The Replacement Wife

Overall I give this book 4 stars because the story is the epitome of what a true psychological thriller is meant to be and it keeps you hooked until the very end.

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Happy first day of February, bookworms!

I am so excited to put January behind me and move on to February, which will hopefully be a better month! What a tough month January was! Thankfully I was still able to reach my reading goal so I am still on track for the year. I had a hard time picking what to read for February - there are so many good books I want to get to and I am hoping I have time to read more than four, but we’ll see. Here’s what I hope to read in February: