BOOK REVIEW - The Optician's Wife - Betsy Reavley - Audiobook - 3*

BOOK REVIEW

The Optician's Wife - Betsy Reavley

Why did I pick this book, you may wonder? 

I haven't read any of Betsy Reavley's books before, I'll be honest and say that I wanted an audiobook around 8 hours in length to tie in with my weekly commute to work and college and was drawn to the slightly creepy cover art (a close-up of a very pale, almost alien-like, woman's face, with red irises). I didn't read the blurb which is something that you will find is quite common in the way that I select books, and kept it in my Audible library for a few weeks until I got the dreaded notification "Included until 19/05". Knowing that the book may take a valuable credit to listen to in the future, I hit play. 

BLURB

Can you ever really know someone?

When Deborah, an unpopular 17 year-old meets the charming and handsome Larry, he sweeps her off her feet. The trouble is, Larry has a secret. 

Then a series of grisly murders casts a shadow over everything. As Deborah's world starts to fall apart, she begins to suspect the man she loves of a terrible betrayal. And to keep their marriage alive, sacrifices must be made. 

The Optician's Wife is a compelling psychological thriller that unpacks what goes on behind closed doors and reminds us that sometimes the worst crimes can take place closer to home than you think. 

MY REVIEW

My assumption from the cover (yes, it was the red eyes) was that the story would have a supernatural theme, perhaps a devil or evil spirit. This assumption was quickly rolled up and tossed out the window within the first few minutes of reading. The book is set in mid-1980s Cambridge and begins by following a teenage protagonist, Deborah, as she is romanced by Larry, a trainee optician. The first "romance" scene in the book surprised me, as it whipped at me out of the blue. I've put inverted commas around the word romance as there really was nothing romantic about it, quite the opposite, and Larry officially started to give me the creeps. Not to mention that I was in the car stopped at traffic lights on the way home from work at the time feeling like everyone in the cars around me could DEFINITELY hear what I was listening to.  

Interspersed with Deborah's timeline, we are also reading from the perspective of a serial killer, who has a tendency to kill people who seem to know or meet Larry and Deborah along the way. The killer's identity is, of course, kept secret until the very end to keep the reader guessing. Suddenly the timelines start jumping around and the serial killer perspective disappears, the story is told as a dual timeline instead. This was confusing initially but I enjoyed this back-and-forth style once I figured out what was happening.

The narration frustrated me initially however that was probably because I listen at a faster speed, giving the narrator a bit of a chipmunk squeaky pitch, especially considering the cockney accents. The narrator did a great job with Deborah though and completely understood the assignment when it came to her personality. 

Overall this book felt like a standard psychological thriller with quite a predictable reveal.  Most of the characters were quite flat but the author did a good job with Deborah, giving a view into her thoughts and personality. This character was well-developed and I experienced the intended feelings of love/hate/uncertainty about her in spades. More hate than anything else in my view. I felt uncomfortable hearing her thoughts like they would transfer to me somehow, and that's the sign that it's been done right. 

The change in style at the midway point confused me and I would have preferred the entire book to have the back-and-forth dual timelines, as it was an engaging way of telling the story and I wasn't sure why the serial killer perspective suddenly stopped part way through.

It was an enjoyable listen, not groundbreaking by any stretch especially since I read so many thrillers I am a little hard to surprise, but I found myself sitting in the car for a few extra minutes to get to the end of the chapter after work. If psychological thrillers are up your street, it's worth adding to the list! Solid three stars :)

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