Author: Mary Beth Keane
# of Pages: 390 (hardback)
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Mental Illness
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, two rookie cops in the NYPD, live next door to each other outside the city. What happens behind closed doors in both houses—the loneliness of Francis’s wife, Lena, and the instability of Brian’s wife, Anne—sets the stage for the explosive events to come.
Review: Overall a solid read, but definitely not a happy one.
Mary Beth Keane has written a gripping slice-of-life story about two families who's lives inevitably become intertwined. However, unlike most slice-of-life stories, Keane tends to quickly fast forward through the happy/funny parts and skips right to the big challenges and struggles.
I found myself tearing up several times because the characters reminded me of relationships I have with loved ones in real life, and it made me think a lot about what I have to appreciate in my current situation and what I may have to face in the future as I build new relationships and strengthen old ones.
There were only a couple of issues I had with this book. There was third person POV switching, which didn't bother me at first but became more frustrating as the story went on. Keane seems to use this third person POV switching to maintain the "grim" tone of the book (so if some characters are experiencing a happy time in their lives, the author might write from a different character's perspective who might not be having such a rosy time). The other problem is sometimes the characters seem to be portrayed in an emotionally disconnected way, which made some of the characters feel unrealistic.
One thing I do love about the book is how no character is truly bad; most people are trying their best, and some are definitely trying harder than others. It sends a good message to show that some people can go through severe hardships but still work on rising above and bettering themselves.
I would recommend this book!
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