Book Review: Disclaimer

A successful documentary maker who loves her husband and adores – though is often disappointed in – her son, Catherine’s been keeping a secret for twenty years. When a book turns up in her new home – a self-published title that she can’t remember buying – she realises that the main character is her, and that it’s the story of what happened all those years ago. But there’s an ending that never happened – Catherine’s seemingly-accidental death, pushed in front of a Tube train.

Or rather, it’s an ending that hasn’t happened yet. In alternating chapters, we learn about Stephen, a retired widower schoolteacher who has typed up his late wife’s novel and brought it into the world. He’s out to get Catherine, and punish her for what happened – or what he thinks happened – twenty years before.

This is a twisty read with a few swerves that you might guess, and others that will take you by surprise. I gobbled it up in one day, and while there were certain aspects of the ending that felt a bit too easy, there were other details that really pleased me. Fans of domestic suspense (Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins, Ruth Ware) will enjoy.