Book
Review: Her by Harriet Lane
One day Nina
instantly recognizes Her, Emma, a woman who unknowingly has a profound
influence on her life. On a street on an
ordinary day Nina fastens her attention and intention on finding a way into
Emma’s world entering her life as unobtrusively as Emma did her decades
ago. On the surface this story unfolds
as two very different women find connection despite the differences in the arcs
of their lives. Beneath the surface of the bright promise of a budding friendship
the psychopathic menace of Nina’s obsession with Emma grows slowly as poisonous
memories of unspoken loss and withering contempt become laced with a desire for
revenge. The chapters alternate with
Nina and Emma sharing their life experiences and record of their encounters
most of which are descriptions of the same events. Slowly the tension builds as barely
remembered nuances are remembered by Emma and Nina’s inner fury builds to a
shocking and unresolved conclusion. All I could murmur after reading this
was….Oh my God…Oh my God…what a story.
This one is slow in spots, but subtle tension kept me reading, wondering and hoping for a happy ending that
I knew would not happen. Harriet Lane’s
prose is luminous and involving; delicious as it builds characters neither of
which is truly likeable but who one longs to know more about. Well worth your time if you enjoy slow and
easy suspense.
Review by
Karen
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