E.G. Scott | THE WOMAN INSIDE

Plot (via Goodreads):

Rebecca didn’t know love was possible until she met Paul, a successful, charismatic, married man with a past as dark as her own. Their pain drew them together with an irresistible magnetism; they sensed that they were each other’s ideal (and perhaps only) match.
 
But twenty years later, Paul and Rebecca are drowning as the damage and secrets that ignited their love begin to consume their marriage. Paul is cheating on Rebecca, and his affair gets messy fast. His mistress is stalking them with growing audacity when Rebecca discovers Paul’s elaborate plan to build a new life without her. And though Rebecca is spiraling into an opiate addiction, it doesn’t stop her from coming up with a devious plot of her own, and this one could end absolutely everything.
 
What follows is an unpredictable and stylish game of cat and mouse—a shocking tale of unfaithfulness and unreliability that will keep you racing until the final twist and make you wonder how well you really know your spouse.

Review:

So, I have this theory about Dutton Books: if it's Dutton, it's suttin' to talk about. The thrillers I've been able to review for Dutton are so top notch and really set themselves apart from the plethora of mystery and thriller novels that are out there. The Woman Inside by E.G. Scott is an exceptional example as to the kind of novel I am talking about. A harrowing and taut thriller that is by far above and beyond anything I've yet to read. Now, let's get into it.

I am a sucker for a novel told in different parts, each part a large puzzle piece featuring smaller pieces that really not only tell a story but build a masterful pacing that results in its reader falling down a rabbit hole. With this novel, I wasn't floating or falling, but plunging into darkness with a dire need to embrace every word and scurrying in confusion as the pieces of this complex and shadowy novel unfolded right in front of my very eyes.

What I enjoyed about this one was that Part 1 of the novel was told between the perspectives of Rebecca and Paul Campbell. Each character told their version of the before and after of an unknown event and vividly drew a picture of what this couple who seemingly has it all is really harboring under the facade of their perfect lives. While each character was about as three-dimensional as you can get with a fictional novel, I was enamored with them both equally. Sympathetic and yet unlikeable at times, I was enthralled with their story so much that at times, I had forgotten there was a  storm brewing and a pivotal scene was about to be exposed in a shocking and exquisitely written scene. As much as it's a saddening epidemic, I enjoyed the storyline told from Rebecca's perspective as it was refreshing to have an unreliable narrator that struggled with an opiate addition compared to the standard and overly used alcohol addiction. Her scenes were not only heavily unreliable, but harrowing and dreamlike as it jumped from sentence to sentence missing hours of time and dragging the reader along with Rebecca as she began to unravel. Paul's perspectives featured portions that were missing a lot of detail as to what he was really up to as they come off deviant and shrouded in mystery.

As Part II comes onto the scene, a rather disastrous and shocking scene erupts that I didn't see coming and left me wondering if similar to how Rebecca viewed certain things, if I was imaging this or how reliable the words I just read really were. As the story continued, we are introduced to shocking revelations and two other perspectives from detectives working on two cases that are eerily similar and may or may not be connected. I loved the contrast between Rebecca and Paul struggling to keep it together, watching their relationship get demolished by their choices, and also getting a look into how these detectives are viewing them as outsiders looking in. As much as I loved Rebecca and Paul's chapters, it was entertaining and kicked up the pacing a notch by including both detectives' chapters and was a brilliant move by E.G. Scott. As a reader devouring these pages, I couldn't tell if I was getting closer or farther from the truth as I eagerly attempted to put together the pieces and guess what was about to happen. Each time I was wrong.

Part III was the pivotal portion of the novel was the revelations and twists just spun like a tornado in my head. I was re-reading parts, taking small breaks to absorb what was going on and relishing every single part of this twisted and brilliantly written novel. Getting to the truth of this elaborate novel was like reaching the point of no return. I was begging to get to the bottom as the novel unraveled into something darkly disastrous and haunting and yet terrified to reach the final page. What resulted in this anxiety-filled euphoria was a harrowing and terrifying ending and an epilogue that would've knocked me flat on my back had I been reading this one standing up. A brilliant and chilling novel that features multiple character perspectives, creepy imagery, a stalker storyline, and an ending that will leave you breathless and ready to scream when the oxygen reaches your lungs again.

Special thanks to Dutton Books for this novel in exchange for my honest review. This novel releases January 22, 2019 and my advice is to pre-order this one now as this is one that you won't want to let everyone get their hands on before you.

Rating: 5/5