Thank you Libro.fm / Penguin Canada for the ALC and ThrillerBookLovers Promotions, Viking, #partner, for an advanced e-copy of A Man Downstairs in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Viking / Penguin Canada
Published: March 5, 2024
Summary:
What if the childhood you remember isn’t really what happened at all?
From the acclaimed author of An Unthinkable Thing and Hideaway, a breath-stopping novel of suspense about a woman tormented by memories of the past and threatened by long-held secrets in the present.
Molly Wynters has moved back to her small hometown to care for her father, recently felled by a stroke and no longer able to communicate. She is ready to make a fresh start with her son after her divorce, but is haunted by both old events and new realities in her childhood home.
What Molly recalls of her young life with her father is full of love and care, even though a violent trauma defined her when she was a young girl, she witnessed her mother’s murder, and her testimony – “There was a man downstairs” – sent a teenager to prison. This tragic episode is still very much alive in the culture of the town, and the more Molly remembers, the more she fears that what she said on the stand all those years ago might not have been the whole truth.
After Molly, a trained therapist, volunteers for a local helpline, the threats begin. At first they seem random, but soon Molly realizes that she is a target, and even those closest to her seem suspicious, especially as unsuspected links between them emerge. More than one life was destroyed on that horrific long-ago day, and now someone intends to hold Molly accountable.
With its gripping descent into the shadowy corners of the human psyche A Man Downstairs is both an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride and a masterful exploration of the fragile nature of memory.
My thoughts:
This is the first book I’ve read by Nicole Lundrigan and I’m not sure how that is possible. I will definitely be checking out her other thrillers as she sure knows how to write a good one!
I love books that play with memory and the human mind, so of course, I had to read this one…and I was definitely rewarded with a thrilling, haunting story that slowly ramps up the tension until the very end. What really happened all those years ago and can Molly trust the memories that are starting to resurface now that she’s back in her hometown?
I think in part, the way this story is constructed really led to it being such a tense, edge-of-your seat type of read. Having the story told from multiple timelines as well as multiple points of view, including a “him” chapter really sets you up right away for that sense of the unknown. Can everyone we meet be trusted?
While this is more of a character-driven story than plot-driven, I found myself completely hooked. I needed answers as much as Molly did and I loved the twists and turns this one takes to get us to those answers. Definitely a good pick for those that love thrillers with a side of craziness, this one is not to be missed!
Audio thoughts:
This book was great on audio, especially considering it was narrated by a full cast, which to me just enhanced the storytelling! The narrators, Tyrone Savage, Amy Matysio and Wesley French did such a great job with their parts, infusing just the right amount of tension into their voices as needed.
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