Day: February 2, 2020

I am a fan of claustrophobic movies (The Shining and Misery are two of my favorites). I have always found books a little bit more challenging to get into (the irony is not lost on me that the two movies above were books first). It is difficult to maintain interest when the action all has to take place in one location. The author needs to be very creative with the atmosphere.

I am happy to report that The Leaving Party does an excellent job of this. Not only is the claustrophobic feeling achieved (everything takes place in a house), but the author goes a step further and juxtaposes the tension of the story with a going-away party.

I liked how the author started with a murky prologue. Was it an event in the past, or something yet to come? How does it tie into the story? I had to go back and re-read the prologue a few times during the book to try to figure it out.

The story is told from alternating points of view between Ava and Lena, with the events of a past party interspersed. The action flows smoothly, and the switches are always natural; I never felt jolted out of the narrative.

I thought that the author’s exploration of friendship and the lengths people will go to for each other was especially fascinating. How can a person tell when a friendship crosses the line? Can friends always be trusted, even to the detriment of family relations?

What I appreciated most, however, was how the author threw in a few red herrings. I take notes when I read, and in looking over them to write this review, I noticed that I had at least four different solutions to a plot point affecting Ava. I changed my mind at least that many times depending on the details the author provided. I liked that I was kept off-balance.

I do think that there were a few things that could have used more depth, but overall it was a tightly written novel with tension and a few “that did NOT just happen” moments. I would certainly recommend it.

AUTHOR BIO

Lesley spends her days writing in coffee shops in Kings Cross where she lives and also works as a librarian in a multicultural school. She has lived and worked in Paris and speaks four languages. She attended the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course in 2015/6, and in 2017 was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish fiction prize. Lesley discovered Patricia Highsmith as a teenager and has since been hooked on psychological thrillers. She is particularly interested in the psychology of female relationships.