Here is amazon's blurb on the book:
Evelyn Tester is sleepwalking through her suburban life—until a late-night phone call startles her awake. Her husband, a prestigious psychiatrist, has been in an accident. And he isn’t alone.
Suddenly Evelyn’s world isn’t as tidy as she thought. And in the midst of it all is Juliette, not only her husband’s secret lover but also his patient. If news of the affair were to get out, it would ruin more than just Evelyn’s marriage. Although it’s a bitter pill for Evelyn to swallow, protecting her family means staying silent—even if, as she begins to discover, the night of the accident has consequences far more dangerous than the unmasking of an affair.
But the more Evelyn learns about Juliette’s picture-perfect life—complete with a handsome, unsuspecting husband—the more she yearns for revenge…and satisfaction. Her growing obsession fuels her rage, burning away her complacency. What will be left of her after it flames out?
Every month amazon offers me, as a prime member, a selection of books to read before you can buy it. I get to select one book from the offerings and this month I chose Evelyn, After. It was labeled as a psychological thriller. Given that and its blurb, I wasn't sure I would like it but I felt it was the one I was most likely to like of what was offered.
At the time of my writing this review there are under 20 reviews posted with most giving it three stars. The reason given for the three stars in most instances is that they say it's not a psychological thriller. I agree with that assessment, I don't believe it's a psychological thriller either. But I really liked the book and couldn't put it down. Well, I started reading it late yesterday evening and eventually put it down around 1:30 because I just couldn't stay up any longer. But the first thing I did this morning was finish the book - before I fixed breakfast or anything else . . . I wanted to see how it ended. Amazon also has this book listed as Women's Fiction and I think that is a more accurate category for this book.
Evelyn is a housewife who has been married to Gary for twenty years. She works a few hours a day at the school and is a room mom as well as being very involved in the PTO. She's very dependable and as a result gets a lot of grunt work dumped on her. She's not particularly dissatisfied with her life until one night she gets awakened by a call that changes everything. She suspects her husband is having an affair but realizes that's just the tip of the iceberg. As she tries to make sense of it all, she feels insignificant and finds herself questioning when she lost herself. To me, this book is about a woman who gets the rug pulled out from under her and finds herself free falling. She thinks she's hit rock bottom only to find there are several more layers to go before she truly hits rock bottom.
She changes as she uncovers more of the story. She thinks of actions as things the "old Evelyn" or the "new Evelyn" would do. She looks at her life differently and tries to find herself again. I actually laughed out loud at a few passages. One I particularly liked was when she was about to do something "old Evelyn" wouldn't even consider:
"Oh, God," she whispered, suddenly lightheaded. This was mad. Wonderful. Terrifying. Maybe it was all a fantasy. Maybe she'd finally broken from reality and was sedated in a hospital, creating this imaginary life for herself. It was a comforting thought, actually. Freeing.
I feel the author did a great job of telling this story and expressing the emotions one might go through in a similar situation. It was believable and relatable, in my opinion. And I was satisfied with the way things wrapped up and where Evelyn ended up at the end of the book.
I would recommend this book, provided you know it's better labeled as women's fiction rather than a psychological thriller. :)
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