I picked up this book out of sheer curiosity. There are masses of these paperbacks and they are everywhere, from Daunts and Waterstones to Sainsburys. They nearly fill the best seller lists that appear every week in the Sunday Times. Do note these are the bestseller lists, not necessarily lists of the best books! I will refrain from slipping down a rabbit hole regarding what actually is a ‘good’ book, gracious, they are selling in their hundreds of thousands all over the world. If I don’t like them then that is obviously my own problem.
Frieda McFadden is an American physician who lives and works in Boston, specialising in injuries caused by brain trauma. Frieda McFadden is a pseudonym and the writer goes so far as to wear wigs and glasses to appear in disguise. The original aim was to keep her identity as a doctor and a writer separate. She must now be so famous that I’m not sure that is any longer possible. Will she give up her hospital work and become a full time writer I wonder.
This book is an easy read, great for a long journey I think. The person sitting in the seat next to you might get a shock when you turn the page and gasp every now and then but you will have reached the end by the time you arrive at your destination. An ex- convict takes on the job of housemaid and cook in a swanky American house. The couple she works for are confusing and unsettling. The reader really does not know what is going on and who can be trusted, indeed what is true. A door that locks only on the outside is never a good sign is it? I want to use the word creepy here, not a very literary word I accept but that is what this story is, very creepy and unsettling. I admire the writer (whatever her real name is) as she has really found her own niche in this very overloaded market but I didn’t like it. I won’t be reading any more of these books but it’s safe to say that many other people will.