Group Read - Her Every Fear Final Comments SPOILERS Welcome

[Ann]

How did you like Her Every Fear? Spoilers welcome on this topic about the entire book.
Have you read any of Peter's other books? (no spoilers for other books on this thread please)

[Justine]

Hello! Just joined. I read this book a few weeks ago. I read it compulsively but the more I thought about the book in the days after, I didn't like it as much as I did at the time. There were definitely chilling moments - probably the most chilling for me was Henry's mother's recollection of him as a happy, smiling baby. I don't know why but that image just made me feel sad, and feel my own anxiety about what makes a person into a monster. Interested to hear what others thought!

[Carol/Bonadie]

Hi Justine! I've read all three of Peter's books and liked this one very much. Near the end when Henry was letting himself in and out of various apartments willy nilly I found myself checking closets and dark rooms in my house. That is a sign of a good thriller to me.

I remember the baby scene and I read it a couple of times because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to find something sinister in it. I didn't, which surprised me because I thought it would have added to the creep factor.

[Sandi]

I ended up liking it but not as much as The Kind Worth Killing which I thought was excellent.

I agree Carol that there were some very chilling parts but Henry was the type of bad guy that kind of ultimately bores me because I prefer motives to madness.

[Sherry]

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Hi Justine! I've read all three of Peter's books and liked this one very much. Near the end when Henry was letting himself in and out of various apartments willy nilly I found myself checking close..."

i did, too, carol. i think each of his books has gotten better and this one was a total page turner for me. the end parts where we learn about how twisted/"sick" henry really is was chilling for me to read. i'm just glad that kate didn't totally disintegrate with all the little weird things going on in her apartment- the changed sketches, the cat in the house when she knew she's let him out, etc.

[Carol/Bonadie]

Sandi wrote: "I ended up liking it but not as much as The Kind Worth Killing which I thought was excellent.

I agree Carol that there were some very chilling parts but Henry was the type of bad ..."

Sandi, I'm torn between the two books. I liked The Kind Worth Killing SO much more than The Girl with a Clock for a Heart. In reflecting on your comment in the other thread about the ending of this one being convenient, I certainly would give TKWK the edge, as its ending was definitely more thriller-ish!

I see your point on Henry. Having heard Peter talk about his fascination with two complementary psychos (Corbin's level of psycho-ness maybe being debatable) bringing out the worst in each other, I was more focused on the pair and less on Henry.

[Carol/Bonadie]

Sherry wrote: " i'm just glad that kate didn't totally disintegrate with all the little weird things going on in her apartment- the changed sketches, the cat in the house when she knew she's let him out, etc. ..."

Me too, Sherry. It was a bit improbable given her trauma and the way George kept resurfacing in her dreams, but on the other hand it's a common M/T trope where the heroine faces her fears and finally overcomes them.

[Ann]

Justine: I found the theme of what makes someone turn into a monster or to lose their grip on reality an interesting undercurrent too.
The characters of Kate and Alan were not always in touch with reality. George was an abusive bully. Henry was psychotic and violent, living in his own fantasy world and Corbin just seemed so passive overall that his violent bursts of temper surprised me.

Justine wrote: "There were definitely chilling moments - probably the most chilling for me was Henry's mother's recollection of him as a happy, smiling baby. I don't know why but that image just made me feel sad, and feel my own anxiety about what makes a person into a monster. Interested to hear what others thought! "

[Ann]

Perhaps a bit silly to feel this way but I was thrilled to see that Peter Swanson liked a tweet of my Goodreads review of Her Every Fear on Twitter. :)

[Ann]

Was I the only one who found the timeline confusing? From Kate's standpoint she seemed to have been there for several days, and yet near the end it seemed that the police described it as a shorter window of the Audrey murder investigation. A lot happened in those days.

One thing that this book gives us is a lot of possible suspects in Audrey's murder.
Kate seems safe since she just arrived and is telling us the tale in her voice but all bets are off for the other characters and with old boyfriend George even coming up in my mind (was he really dead?)
I found the speculation about which man committed the murder entertaining. Corbin I almost wanted to feel sorry for when we started to hear from him later in the book; but initially he seemed the likely choice.
Alan was a mixed bag of creepy stalker and really inattentive boyfriend (to Quinn) but seemed vulnerable and needy and somehow Kate found him likeable.
Jack always seemed "off" to me, especially as his assertions started to fall apart. He said he went to the police and talked to them extensively about his suspicions but Detective James hadn't heard of him.
Henry, I am not sure exactly when I began to suspect Jack and Henry were the same person, I thought Jack was just a creepy boyfriend with a possible motive to kill too. Henry was really chilling in his ability to stay hidden so long and to charm women into going with him to cemeteries and other inaccessible places.

Kate had her own neuroses and questions about what was going on in Corbin's apartment and in her head when she did reckless things kept me wondering -- was it more serious psychoses or was something going on in the apartment.

[Justine]

I just finished reading the kind worth killing and I actually liked Her Every Fear better!

[Carol/Bonadie]

Ann wrote: "Perhaps a bit silly to feel this way but I was thrilled to see that Peter Swanson liked a tweet of my Goodreads review of Her Every Fear on Twitter. :)"

I would be thrilled too. Unfortunately I don't tweet my reviews OR post them on Facebook.

[Carol/Bonadie]

Ann wrote: "Was I the only one who found the timeline confusing? From Kate's standpoint she seemed to have been there for several days, and yet near the end it seemed that the police described it as a shorter ..."

Ann, I didn't pay much attention to the stated or implied timeline so it didn't bother me.

Your analysis of the characters is spot-on. I did connect Jack and Henry earlier than was made obvious, but before I did I too just put him down as some creepy ex-boyfriend whose reason for hanging about I didn't believe for one minute.

[Jack]

I too found the suspect pool interesting. as soon as corbin told about henry and his role in stalking and killing the women he met it made sense to me that jack was henry stalking out the scene to see how if corbin was getting the blame.

It was interesting how many of the characters had mental health issues that were quite severe and affected their reality.

The delusional rant of henry about the murders being a work of art was disturbing. his spur of the moment decision to frame alan was a sign he had lost control as it was obvious it would be a plant and throw suspicion on him.

Comparing the kind worth killing and this is difficult with such different storylines and styles. I liked tkwk a little more than this one because of the end and the writing style annoyed me a bit.
Still a good read and pageturner for me though.

[Ann]

Jack: very sharp to connect Jack and Henry at that point. I wonder if the various mental health issues of the characters impacted connecting with the characters, lowering our identification / satisfaction.

Jack wrote: "I too found the suspect pool interesting. as soon as corbin told about henry and his role in stalking and killing the women he met it made sense to me that jack was henry stalking out the scene ..
......
It was interesting how many of the characters had mental health issues that were quite severe and affected their reality".

[Jack]

I think it did put a barrier to liking the characters and feeling comfortable with them. I zuspect it was meant as a way to increase suspicion that anyone could do it.
Do you think kates back story added to her characters appeal? It was probably the main plot for peter swanson to have a heroine who overcame emotional baggage to get through another traumatic experience.

could the story have been as good if she was a more confident person?
The murder plot and its resolution would still have been as good i think.

[Ann]

Jack: Kate definitely had another traumatic experience. I agree, I would have enjoyed it as much had she been more confident.

Jack wrote: "I think it did put a barrier to liking the characters....
It was probably the main plot for peter swanson to have a heroine who overcame emotional baggage to get through another traumatic experience.

could the story have been as good if she was a more confident person?
The murder plot and its resolution would still have been as good i think.
."

[Carol/Bonadie]

Jack wrote: "Do you think kates back story added to her characters appeal? It was probably the main plot for peter swanson to have a heroine who overcame emotional baggage to get through another traumatic experience.

could the story have been as good if she was a more confident person?
The murder plot and its resolution would still have been as good i think...."

Interesting question, Jack. I found Kate's backstory interesting (especially where Peter hinted at it but didn't reveal it for a few chapters), but I thought she had a surprising amount of courage (going down in the basement, sneaking into Audrey's apartment) given her tendency toward panic attacks.

So I guess I said all that to say I'm not sure she would have done much more if she had had more confidence, so I can't imagine enjoying the story more if she had been.