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Her Every Fear
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Group Read - Her Every Fear Chap 30-38 to the end SPOILERS Welcome
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Chapter 30. We switch to Henry's point of view. His friendship with Corbin Dell had been special. He was hurt when Corbin called to end the friendship after Linda Alcheri. He was not going to let Corbin get away with that. Henry reminisces about how he stalked a woman in St. Louis and hid in her apartment for days until she moved in with a girlfriend. He gets bored and decides to look up Corbin who has now moved to Boston. He finds him and breaks into his apartment when Corbin is at work. Then he discovers that Corbin is hiding a girlfriend. Henry looks forward to finding out more about her. Chapter 31. Henry Googles Audrey Marshall and learns more about her. He breaks into her apartment and snoops, finding her diary. Corbin has inexplicably broken up with her and is moving back to London. Henry is shocked and a little pissed off. It's time to screw over Corbin for real. Henry breaks into Audrey's apartment and kills her. Henry reads about the murder in the newspaper. He goes back to the apartment building in search of details. He spots Kate and identifies her as Corbin's cousin. He pretends to be a friend of Audrey's and pumps her for information about the murder. Later that day he is thinking how much he enjoyed talking with Kate he gets a brilliant idea. He's going to break into Kate’s apartment and live with her. Without her knowledge.
Chapter 32. Henry is in Kate's apartment. He finds her sketchbook and slightly alters some of the portraits by smudging them. He recalls his sister and how he terrorized her growing up. Kate comes home and Henry watches her as she sleeps.
Chapter 33. Kate comes and goes and while she's away Henry wanders around the apartment. He goes down to the basement and explores Corbin's packed things. He finds a poster of a woman's torso and decides to do some surgery on it. When he returns to the storage area for a second time he encounters the cat Sanders, who scratches his forearm and causes it to bleed. Instead of returning to Kate's apartment he picks the lock to Audrey's and wanders around, remembering fondly the night of the murder. It was the most fun he'd had since Claire Brennan. He looks across the courtyard into the opposite apartment and sees a couple that looks familiar. He finally realizes it is Kate and Alan. He has a near escape leaving the building when he hears the police coming up the stairs. A few minutes into his walk he realizes he's being followed and steps into an alley. When Alan walks by he confronts him.
Chapter 34. Henry invites Alan to join him for a bite. While they are talking Henry decides to frame Alan for Audrey's murder. While Alan is in the bathroom Henry plants the murder weapon in Alan’s backpack. After they part he makes a phone call to the police telling them where to find the knife.
Chapter 35. Henry returns to his apartment and decides it's time for him to make his getaway. While unpacking his backpack he realizes he has left his hat in Kate's apartment and has to return to get it. While retrieving it he senses someone else in the apartment besides Kate. He guesses Alan, and then Corbin appears. They fight and Henry stabs Corbin. Kate appears and he stabs her in the back. The police arrive out of nowhere and one of them shoots Henry.Chapter 36. Detective James calls for backup. Henry is dead, Corbin is bleeding badly, and Kate is alive. Six hours earlier James was in her apartment relaxing when she got a call from the police department. They received a call about the knife in Alan's backpack, and joke that the caller probably planted it. They guess it is Jack, and decide to execute a warrant for Alan's apartment. If they find the knife they’ll arrest him so that they can find out more about Jack. The police are beginning to put it together about Jack. James and the FBI agent Abigail Tan get the arrest warrant and go to Alan's apartment. Alan implores them to go check on Kate. He remembers when he saw Jack that he had scratches on his arm. Jack said they were hives, but Alan believes they were scratches from the cat Sanders who always scratches people when he is in the basement. James goes to Kate's apartment and hears scuffling at the front door.
Chapter 37. The three attack victims are taken to the hospital. Jack is dead, Corbin dies from a loss of blood, and Kate is going to be fine. Detective James fills Kate in on all that's happened. Alan Cherney, who has been released, is waiting to see Kate but she's not ready. Detective James thinks of the pictures they found in Jack's apartment of Corbin standing over a dead body in a graveyard and realizes he is not an innocent in this. It connects Henry and Corbin to at least one of the earlier crimes. They have traced Henry and Corbin's association back to school in London about the time that the unsolved homicide of Claire Brennan occurred. They figure out the timeline for the other two murders of Linda Alcheri and Rachael Chess. Kate's parents arrive from London. She chats briefly with Alan, who makes a plea for her staying in the US and makes her an offer. She says she'll think about it.
Chapter 38. Kate is released from the hospital. She has told her parents she wants to stay for just a little while, and they reluctantly return to London. She spends a few days in Provincetown, reflecting on things. When she returns to Boston, she goes to Alan's apartment and he welcomes her with open arms.
This is where the book kind of lost me. I found the ending a bit flat with the deaths of Corbin and Henry being somewhat anticlimactic. I also thought it was rather convenient that Detective James was able to interpret Alan's babbling about the hives and realize that Kate was still in trouble.
Sandi, I agree that the ending was bit wrapped in a bow, on the other hand I was relieved because I was so stressed by the previous chapters it was like a weight was lifted, LOL.
Henry was getting sloppy I think with the proximity to Corbin in Boston. It sounds like he was getting bored with his solo killing. Corbin's weak nature seems to have been partly a result of his childhood, some sort of trauma or abuse, but he went along with Henry's manipulation for years either actively or passively. I wonder if he ever considered turning himself in, or giving a tip to expose Henry. The way he hid his relationship with Audrey makes me think he was still too afraid to consider it.
So, when Corbin breaks pattern and goes back to Boston after Henry and to protect Kate I was surprised. (And pleased, I like Kate)
I was horrified that Kate had to get into a closet-like space to stay safe. While the ending with Detective James coming to the rescue just in time was a rather neat bow it didn't bother me too much.
Kate's staying in the US and beginning to move on past her trauma with George was a good thing but it seemed a bit flat to me.
i was glad that corbin went back to help kate, too, ann and totally freaked out for her that she had to hide in the closet. unfortunately, that was followed by a TSTL moment.
Ann wrote: "I was horrified that Kate had to get into a closet-like space to stay safe. While the ending with Detective James coming to the rescue just in time was a rather neat bow it didn't bother me too much.Kate's staying in the US and beginning to move on past her trauma with George was a good thing but it seemed a bit flat to me. ..."
It just dawned on me that she has escaped two traumatizing events in her life by hiding (or being hidden) in a closet. What are the odds?
I was happy about the ending resolution with Alan, but found the escape to P-town a little of a let-down, especially after the action-packed final scene in the apartment. The story needed a transition to the ending so I'm not sure what I would have liked better. Maybe a "six months later....." setup.
Sherry wrote: "i was glad that corbin went back to help kate, too, ann and totally freaked out for her that she had to hide in the closet. unfortunately, that was followed by a TSTL moment."Her coming out of the closet you mean?
Sherry: And Kate seemed to go from victim haunted by crazed stalkers and a person afraid of her shadow for her entire life to taking rather bold risks (searching Audrey's apartment while bypassing the police tape barrier; going down to the creepy basement; dismissing the feeling that someone was in the apartment with her and someone else was opening the door to let Sanders in and out; and then surviving knife wounds to the back after confronting Corbin and the unknown bad person in the apartment. Perhaps if Peter had explained her motivation to leave the closet as a compulsion to get out, it just seemed out of character. Good for her for getting over her fear.Sherry wrote: "i was glad that corbin went back to help kate, too, ann and totally freaked out for her that she had to hide in the closet. unfortunately, that was followed by a TSTL moment."
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Sherry wrote: "i was glad that corbin went back to help kate, too, ann and totally freaked out for her that she had to hide in the closet. unfortunately, that was followed by a TSTL moment."Her c..."
that was one of them, for sure. when she went into the apartment next door and down to the storage closet were two others.
Ann wrote: "Sherry: And Kate seemed to go from victim haunted by crazed stalkers and a person afraid of her shadow for her entire life to taking rather bold risks (searching Audrey's apartment while bypassing ..."it those moments seemed out of character to me. i could almost hear the creepy music playing when she did those things.
Sherry wrote: "it those moments seemed out of character to me. i could almost hear the creepy music playing when she did those things. .."
I have to agree with you there. I would not make a good protagonist in a mystery because I would have done NONE of those things, LOL! In fact I would have considered returning to England...
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Sherry wrote: "it those moments seemed out of character to me. i could almost hear the creepy music playing when she did those things. .."
I have to agree with you there. I would not make a good ..."
i'd have been right behind you on the plane, carol. :)
I was so glad corbin got back to try and save kate but would have liked him to live to help the police close the cases and give kate an explanation.It was a horrible feeling imagining what she had to deal with getting into that closet.
Henry freaked me out and am glad ge died. I cant believe kate got up to the door with the knife in her back.
I agree the ending wasnt the best but it was a way to give kate space to come to terms with what happened and realise the strength she has to live a normal life again.
Alan would be good for kate i think and hopefully he isnt tempted into any more questionable voyerism.
I was in two minds about the writing style as there was a lot of backtracking and repitition that was a bit tiresome. Although the different perspectives helps give insights that were important for the story.
Jack: I also hope Alan stays away from voyeurism and the backtracking while effective isn't my favorite style either. I had no qualms about Henry's demise, especially after he stabbed Kate. Her reaction was crazy.
Agree with most of what you two have just said. I sort of wanted Corbin to survive because I felt sorry for him, but he wasn't exactly a victim, more like a killer who saw the error of his ways. I think by the "rules" of most mysteries he had to go...
Carol:I sort of wanted Corbin to survive too. He started out reluctant and troubled, had anger issues and overreacted, he regretted his actions and attempted to protect his cousin. But he was a murderer. And he went years without blowing the whistle on Henry.
We appreciate it if the first to post could briefly summarize to guide the discussion for this segment!