You and Me by Nicola Rayner

You and Me: A gripping psychological thriller with twists you won’t see coming

You and Me: A gripping psychological thriller with twists you won’t see coming by Nicola Rayner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Expected Publication Date: October 1st, 2020

Synopsis:

Do you remember back when you were back in middle school or early high school, and there was that one girl or guy? Everything he or she was remarkable to you and you were pretty sure you had a heart attack any time they even glanced in your direction. I actually remember this pretty well; the pain of unrequited “love” which is just really an infatuation over someone you don’t know well enough to be annoyed with yet. I remember once saving a candy bar wrapper after he’d left it on the table. Ugh! Adolescence.

Then 10 years later, you look back, and you maybe click through their social media and you breathe a sigh of relief about having dodged that bullet. You realize that they way you acted was pretty immature and maybe a little creepy even. Yes, I can embarrassedly raise my hand here.

Well, Fran, our MC, is just not there yet. Even though she’s in her 30’s, she regularly stalks her school crush, Charles, and his wife, and their two twins. Not just on social media, but at his work, his house, when he goes out with friends, etc.

All of this is made worse by that Fran is all alone. Her sister Ellie has abandoned her, her mother died, and all she really has to hold close at night is her collection of Charles’ things.

Then a friend of Charles’, and an enemy of Fran’s, Dickie, dies. Fran witnesses it because of course she’s out following Charles. She sees this is her opportunity to break into his life and get him away from his wife and kids.

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My Feelings/Reactions:

Yikes, Fran. 

Though I'm willing to bet that all of us have had crushes that even venture into the obsession range, we all grow out of it. And to be clear, there's a jump from infatuation and daydreaming about someone to sitting outside a man's house, stalking him, his wife, and his children when you are in your 30's.

Fran was a bit underdeveloped and pretty dislikable. I think more than anything, I felt pity and annoyance at her. And a lot of anger at the people in her life who didn’t reach out and say, “Listen, Fran. He’s married now. How about I help you get some counseling? I don’t want you to be heartbroken.” And even some anger at Charles in the beginning, who undoubtedly knew that Fran was doing this, yet never told her to stop or tried to put a restraining order on her, or anything. 

Overall, I felt this book was alright, but the characters could’ve used some polish. It reminded me a lot of an Agatha Christie novel, where the story is clear, but there is not a lot of distinct voice/dialogue to humanize all the characters.

And that ending. Hoooolyyy what! Maybe I should've seen it coming, but I totally didn't and it took me by surprise.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Excerpts: 
"He's just a guy. Just an ordinary guy. You're pinning too much on him. You always did."




Spoilers: Read at Your Own Risk!

This doesn't account for everything, so make sure you read the book!

Well, though Fran thought that Charles hung the whole galaxy, he actually kidnapped her sister Ellie, forced her to become a surrogate for him and his wife, and then killed her. Ellie is the mother of the twins. Fiona, Charles' wife, kills herself because she fears getting caught for the murders of Ellie, Tom, and Dickie (committed by her and Charles). Then Fran kills Charles. And also Charles was sort of an evil bastard all along, who killed a cat for sadistic purposes and had arranged for Ellie to be sexually assaulted? and drowned by Dickie and Tom when they were all in school. Fran meets her nieces for the first time as their aunt as the book ends.

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