Be careful not to offend

Nina is a forty-something artist living in London with her husband and teenage daughter when she catches sight of someone from her past in Her by Harriet Lane.  The woman she spots, Emma, is a pregnant woman with a toddler.  When they do interact, it's obvious that Emma has no recollection of having met Nina at all.  So why is Emma so memorable to Nina?

The chapters in the book alternate between Nina and Emma.  Often, the same event will be told from each point of view in successive chapters.  It's clear from the beginning that Nina blames Emma for some upsetting event in her past, and that she's out to exact some sort of revenge.

At first, Nina's efforts seem to be just a way to keep in contact with Emma.  While Emma is distracted with her son, Nina is able to lift her wallet out of her purse.  She then calls Emma and tells her she found it on the ground, and offers to bring it around to her house (after carefully inspecting all the contents first).  When she gets to Emma's house, she's rather pleased to see that Emma's life is rather chaotic.  Emma has given up her job in television to raise her children, and her days seem consumed with domestic tasks, none of which she seems to take care of particularly well.  The house also seems rather shabby and in need of repairs.  Nina, on the other hand, is doing rather well both financially and professionally.

Nina's plan to somehow get back at Emma (for what we don't find out until nearly the end of the book) then take a slightly more sinister turn.  She leads Emma's young son, Christopher, away while his mother's back is turned in the park.  Nina then calls the police and says she found the boy on her doorstep.  She then convinces Emma that her daughter Sophie is available for babysitting duties, only to show up for the job herself.  Once Emma and her husband gratefully leave for their date night, Nina can then go through their house at leisure.  She doesn't do anything malicious -- she just paws thorough all their belongings.  And she makes sure young Christopher has plenty to drink before bedtime so he'll be sure to wet the bed.

When Nina invites Emma and her family to spend a week at her father's summer house in France, you know that things will probably hit a crisis point before everyone gets back to London.  All the while, Emma has no idea that she had a past encounter with Nina. She sees Nina as nothing other than a kind, helpful and pleasant friend.

The book sort of meanders along, slightly building tension without actually being "edge of your seat" suspenseful.  I was anxious to find out both what exactly it was that Emma did, and also just what Nina planned to do to get revenge.  Was the ending satisfying?  Well, not really.  Once Emma's big misdeed was revealed, it didn't seem like such a terrible transgression.  And perhaps Nina is just reacting to her daughter getting ready to go out on her own, but it seemed like she had way too much time on her hands.  Still, it was interesting trying to figure out where the book was going, and to see if Emma would ever catch on that Nina wasn't the friendly, generous person she seemed to be.  The main point of the book is interesting to ponder:  your actions, no matter what your intent might be, can easily be misinterpreted by others.

At the same time, as I read the book it seemed *so familiar* to me.  I had the nagging feeling that I'd read it before, but the copyright date is 2015, so I'm not sure which book I'm thinking of.  The story really did keep my interest, and of course, I was thrilled with all the references to places and streets in London!

Final Verdict for Her:   Four Gherkins, for being an interesting look at how people can misunderstand each other

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Pulling the strings behind the scenes

Now that the Internet has made it relatively easy for anyone to publish a book, the literary world of books and authors would seem to be more accessible than ever.  For Frances Thorpe, who toils thanklessly at a literary magazine in London, a chance encounter allows an unimagined entrance into this glittering world in Alys, Always.

The book begins with Frances coming upon the scene of a car accident.  Because the windshield is cracked, she's unable to see who's inside, but she begins speaking to the female victim while they wait for the ambulance and police to arrive.  Sadly, the woman doesn't survive the accident.  Soon afterwards, a police officer contacts her and asks if she'd be willing to meet with the family members of the woman who died.  They'd like to ask some questions about their loved one's last moments.  At first Frances is reluctant, but she eventually agrees.

Because she works in publishing, she immediately recognizes the husband of the victim as Laurence Kyte, author of many best-selling books and respected member of the literati.  He and his late wife Alys had two children who are young adults:  the needy, flighty Polly, and the reserved, assessing Oliver.  Frances tells the family what happened after she arrived on the scene of Alys's accident, then throws in an embellishment.  Polly, stricken at the loss of her mother, latches on to Frances and asks her to attend the memorial service.  Frances does, and she's spotted by everyone in the publishing industry, who assume that she is closer to Laurence Kyte than she really is.  She doesn't exactly correct this assumption.

There follows a long string of events where Frances attempts to get closer to the family.  She is able to use the perceived relationship with the Kytes to advance her career (which says something about the state of nepotism in the publishing industry, I guess).  She also begins to manipulate people and events to insinuate herself further into the family. It's all very odd the way the people around her just seem to put up with her, when it seems her presence is unwanted.

The blurb on the flap of the book speaks of the "audacious ending" so I was waiting for something big, but the book just sort of fizzled out without that "whizz bang" ending I was expecting.  Frances was not very likable, but she was able to use what she had to move ahead in the world, even if she wasn't always exactly honest about how she did it.  Still, if the people around her were that slow on the uptake, I guess they deserved to be manipulated.

Final Verdict for Alys, Always: Two Gherkins, for being a story with a promising start that really never took off

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