Invisible Girl: A Novel

Of time, money and expectations. I’m completely baffled by this seemingly thrown together, badly written and poorly executed excuse for a “thriller”.The book begins near midnight on Valentines Day. April Fools would have been much more appropriate, considering the end product.

Lisa Jewell's books continue to fascinate me. I was prepared for a psychological thriller that would keep me guessing until the very last page. Lisa Jewell did not disappoint. We meet Saffyre Maddox and she was being treated by Roan Fours, a child psychologist. Once Roan ends their sessions, Saffyre has trouble coping with the transition out of therapy.She decides to begin following Roan Fours and learns some interesting things about him and his family. Then there is Owen Pick, an awkward man who is a 30 something virgin who is accused of some despicable crimes. All of these people are interwoven and I had theories about the connections and I wasn't even close. This book was hard to put down and is a must-read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Just a mishmash of a story, with an ending that is meh. Too much of the novel spend on one character for no real reason, sort of a head scratcher really.

I loved, loved, loved “Then She Was Gone” and “Watching You”. I didn’t love “The Family Upstairs” as much as the first two titles I mentioned, but it was good and the ending evoked an emotion within. While I enjoyed reading “Invisible Girl” I felt there really wasn’t an OMG twist and that it was rather predictable in someways. The ending left me feeling cheated and wanting more. I’m still willing to read future works by Lisa Jewell, but I don’t think I’ll be pre-ordering the books in the future. I’ll wait to see the reviews of future works and determine whether or not to buy at full price or wait until they hit the bargain section.

I can almost always count on Lisa Jewell for a great balance of suspense and a feeling of deep connection to her characters. Invisible Girl weaves an intricate plot while staying plausible. What I most love are the little thought provoking moments that help you relate to the characters, and to parts of the human condition that are often judged too quickly without empathy. I was left pondering aspects of human nature after finishing this book.As always, I can't wait for Lisa's next novel.

Owen Pick’s life is falling apart. In his thirties and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct—accusations he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel forums, where he meets a charismatic and mysterious figure. Across the street from Owen lives the Fours family, headed by mom Cate, a physiotherapist, and dad Roan, a child psychologist. But the Fours family have a bad feeling about their neighbor Owen. He’s a bit creepy and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night. Meanwhile, young Saffyre Maddox spent three years as a patient of Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned when their therapy ends, she searches for other ways to maintain her connection with him, following him in the shadows and learning more than she wanted to know about Roan and his family. Then, on Valentine’s night, Saffyre disappears—and the last person to see her alive is Owen Pick.My Thoughts: Invisible Girl introduces the characters in alternating sections, beginning with a young girl who likes to hide out and watch people. She is called Saffyre Maddox and she has been in therapy with another character, Roan Fours, whom she likes to follow and watch, along with his family. What is going on behind her actions, and what happens to her one night when she suddenly goes missing?Meanwhile, we learn more about Cate, Roan’s wife, along with her teenage children, Josh and Georgia. Their lives seem normal enough, but Cate worries a lot about them and her husband Roan, who has given her reasons to mistrust him at times.Saffyre’s story unfolds slowly, until we begin to fill in the missing pieces of what happened to her. Even as she emerges from her “invisibility,” other puzzling tidbits come to light about other characters: like Owen and his true story; about a man who hurt Saffyre years before; and about Roan’s secrets. In the end, there was a stunning reveal. 5 stars from me.

I have become a great fan of Lisa Jewell's novels, most especially: Watching You and Then She was Gone, though I don't begrudge a minute of any of the seven that I have read. Invisible Girl lacks something of the sharp cutting edge of the writer at her very best but is still a compulsive read. Ms Jewell's forte is creating tension out of familiar domestic scenes. She excels at the cracks beneath the outwardly calm surface of relationships. Here, I feel there is not quite the depth, nor the subtlety that she provides at her best. Owen is a potentially interesting individual but somehow for me the threads are not drawn together as effectively, so that at times I felt I was almost reading two separate novels. Nonetheless, I was held throughout and perhaps I am being a trifle harsh on a writer who has come to lead us to the highest expectations.

I’ve read every single one of Lisa Jewell’s novels the minute they are published. This novel comes from a writer who is at the very top of her game. A magnificent book, it should be used in writing classes as an example of how to plot, and how to develop character.I had to force myself to slow down and really savour this. The story, based around a sad, lonely and possibly quite creepy guy called Owen, grows with a slow, steady pace as tense as a stretched wire.I found myself walking around worrying about Owen with his crooked haircut and unfortunate expression. Jewell touches on motherhood, incels, abuse, and fear but the tone is never preachy. Jewell has an absolute gift for making her characters spring off the page at you.All of her books have this. She is so clever you feel a connection with some characters even though you are getting quite worried they might be evil. This is what enables her to explore complicated issues in a thoughtful way as she so humanises her characters. Every one of her novels has this lovely sympathy for her characters, despite their flaws. Jewell always find their humanity so your response to them is always multi-layered.If you haven’t read Lisa Jewell I STRONGLY suggest you start now. This is SUCH a good book it hurt to read it, wrenched as I was with envy at her talent. But, like watching an athlete at the height of their powers there is something joyful about putting yourself in the hands of a master craftswoman like Jewell. She really does seem to just get better and better. Can’t wait for the next one.

Lisa Jewell is an amazing writer and this new book is another brilliant example of her layered story telling. The focus is between a teenager called Saffyre (who has disappeared) and the family of Roan, the therapist she was seeing for three years. Roan is arrogant and unlikeable, although his wife Cate is the opposite. Also playing a large part in the story is a character called Owen who lived across the road. Personally, I found him to be the most interesting character of all. He is a teacher but socially awkward, a loner who actually longs to be in a relationship. The way Lisa draws her story between the central characters is reminiscent of Ruth Rendell, which is a great compliment to her skill. I'm not giving any spoilers but I will say that I stayed up until two in the morning reading this as I had to know how it finished. It is an absolutely brilliant book, as are so many of her others. Highly recommended.

I'm a huge fan of Lisa Jewell, but sadly didn't enjoy this one, I found it slow in places and once I put it down was in no rush to pick it back up. The whole storyline bored me and I struggled to finish it.

Really not up to her usual standard, convoluted and unbelievable. Just give it a miss and save yourself £8, it’s seriously not worth it