Thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin/Graydon House, and author Seraphina Nova Glass for a copy of Someone’s Listening in exchange for an honest review.
Someone’s Listening by Seraphina Nova Glass
Genre: Psychological suspense
Publisher: Graydon House/Harlequin
Publication Date: July 28, 2020
Blurb
She wrote the book on escaping a predator… Now one is coming for her.
Faith Finley has it all: she’s a talented psychologist with a flourishing career, a bestselling author and the host of a popular local radio program, Someone’s Listening, with Dr. Faith Finley. She’s married to the perfect man, Liam Finley, a respected food critic.
Until the night everything goes horribly wrong, and Faith’s life is shattered forever.
Liam is missing—gone without a trace—and the police are suspicious of everything Faith says. They either think she has something to hide, or that she’s lost her mind.
And then the notes begin to arrive. Notes that are ripped from Faith’s own book, the one that helps victims leave their abusers. Notes like “Lock your windows. Consider investing in a steel door.”
As the threats escalate, the mystery behind Liam’s disappearance intensifies. And Faith’s very life will depend on finding answers
My thoughts
I have mixed feelings about this book.
Structure
At the outset of the story, Faith is involved in a scandal. Her neighbors avoid her. Her colleagues shun her. Liam, her husband–a seemingly perfect man–has disappeared, though the police dismiss her concerns about foul play. She worries that Liam believes the lies told about her.
But the story takes a long time to reveal what the scandal is. It’s not until chapter 6 that we find out. I don’t want to tell spoilers, but it is scandalous. It’s easy to see why this might destroy a career, friendships, and a marriage.
But it’s tedious wading through Faith’s rather self-indulgent moping around, self-medicating with alcohol and prescription medication and reminiscing about her marriage with the missing Liam. Without knowing the nature of the scandal, it was hard to feel much sympathy for her. I really wanted to get to what the blurb promised: the threats ripped from her own self-help book.
Psychological suspense is hit-or-miss for me. When done well, it captivates me. But a lot of authors use overly vague language to keep us reading, words like “something” or “the event” or “what changed everything.” It’s deliberate, of course. I guess the idea is that by keeping “it” vague, we’ll be curious to find out what “it” is. This works, to an extent.
But used extensively–as in the beginning of this book and others–it’s too easy for me to become impatient. I feel like I’m being strung along by someone recounting a story in an agonizingly slow manner, someone who won’t get to the point. I fear that when I do get to the point, that there won’t be one because it’s insubstantial or predictable.
The other big thing in quite a few suspense novels is a dual timeline: before “the event” and after “the event.” Sometimes dual timelines work. Here, I really don’t think it does, and the book is structurally weaker because of it.
I don’t think it’s a true dual timeline, actually, as the “before” chapters are from the point of view of Faith in the present time, rather than when they actually occur. They’re actually flashbacks. But the alternating chapters are labelled “then” and “now”, which makes it appear to be a dual timeline concept.
Much of this beginning section felt overly drawn out. It wasn’t interesting to read about Faith coping by indulging in alcohol and medication. There’s only so many hangovers that I can tolerate reading about. This fed into my impatience for the story to get to the point, dadgumit.
Plot
In Glass’s defense, there is substance to the point and the story does speed up eventually.
First, we learn what the scandal is.
Second, when the “dual timelines” merge into one after Liam’s disappearance, the story comes together.
From that point forward, I enjoyed the novel.
Once Liam disappears, the suspense increases. Glass gives us multiple twists leading to the climax. Some are predictable for the avid readers of the genre; others are truly surprising. If I hadn’t read the ending first and known the culprit, I don’t think I would’ve guessed that person’s identity. Nor would I have predicted the individual’s motive. Though it’s predictable that Faith’s own advice will help free her from the menace, I didn’t know how that final showdown between she/he and Faith would play out.
Characters
There are lots of interesting characters. Glass delves deep into the psyches of her characters to create some fascinating, troubled individuals. A troubled teenager, a hacking guru, a terrible baker/Etsy craftsperson, a lawyer ex-boyfriend: Glass creates memorable supporting characters. Each of them contributes to the rising tension building to the climax.
The resolution of the novel feels rushed, but it’s still enjoyable. It’s appropriate for this story. After the bumpy structure of the beginning, Seraphina Nova Glass nails the ending.
My favorite thing . . .
I liked watching Faith’s relationship with her sister Ellie, and how they navigate multiple crises together after their abusive childhood. Ellie is overcompensating for their lack of family by being the perfect wife and mother herself. Though Faith doesn’t want children, she listens to her sister’s endless stories of domestic trivia because both sisters know that Faith does not want to discuss her own situation.
Ellie’s stories are her way of helping her sister cope. But it also means that Faith doesn’t discuss the threats with the one person she totally trusts. It’s a really interesting dynamic. I can easily see this happening in many families between grown siblings.
Overall
While I don’t think this book is a must-read, it will appeal to avid readers of psychological suspense.
If you like this book, read my review for The Sunday Girl by Pip Drysdale.