In this “compelling, clever, and dark” (Heat magazine) thriller, a man’s shocking act of savagery stuns a local community–and the revelations that follow will keep you gripped until the very last page. This work of psychological suspense, a #1 bestseller in Ireland, is perfect for fans of Patricia Highsmith and Ruth Ware.
“I expected more of a reaction the first time I hit her.”
So begins Liz Nugent’s astonishing debut novel—a chilling, elegantly crafted, and psychologically astute exploration of the nature of evil.
Oliver Ryan, handsome, charismatic, and successful, has long been married to his devoted wife, Alice. Together they write and illustrate award-winning children’s books; their life together one of enviable privilege and ease—until, one evening after a delightful dinner, Oliver delivers a blow to Alice that renders her unconscious, and subsequently beats her into a coma.
In the aftermath of such an unthinkable event, as Alice hovers between life and death, the couple’s friends, neighbors, and acquaintances try to understand what could have driven Oliver to commit such a horrific act. As his story unfolds, layers are peeled away to reveal a life of shame, envy, deception, and masterful manipulation.
With its alternating points of view and deft prose, Unraveling Oliver is “a page-turning, one-sitting read from a brand new master of psychological suspense” (Sunday Independent) that details how an ordinary man can transform into a sociopath.
2/5
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I went into this book expecting a crazy psychological thriller revolving around Oliver and the chaos that led up to him hitting his wife. That’s the way that it’s presented when you read the synopsis.
What you actually end up with is an interesting character study and history about Oliver. Which is good – he’s led quite the life and has had a lot of stuff go down. But I wouldn’t say it’s a thriller of any sort. It’s a fun read, but I wouldn’t say that the result was thrilling in any way. But perhaps I’m just desensitized to such books.
This book ‘unravels’ the main character by way of describing a long, complicated history, and details the events that led to the point that is mentioned in the first sentence. It’s a good way to do it, if only it were a bit more exciting and a bit less confusing as we went through.
The Good Points of Unraveling Oliver:
The way the author reveals the history is done well, and the timing is great. Just when you’re starting to wonder if it’s worth continuing with the story, another detail gets dropped on you and you’re pulled back into the story.
The writing itself is great. Nugent is a talented storyteller and she knows how to capture an audience and have them wrapped around their finger so that they keep coming back to the story.
The opening of the book is brilliant. From that very first line, you just need to know what’s going to happen, and you’re desperate to find a few minutes to read so you can find out what the hell is going on in this story. This does taper off later on in the book, but it makes for one hell of an opening.
The character of Oliver is so well developed and laid out. There were so many details to his psychology and life, and he felt like someone you’d recognize as you walked down the street.
The Downsides of Unraveling Oliver:
Show, don’t tell! This book is all people telling you what happened and what was happening, but we didn’t actually get to see a whole lot through the story. We’re just told about it, which was rather annoying.
The most exciting part of this book was the beginning. It goes downhill from there, and you don’t get the same excitement as you did in the beginning.
There were so many points of view in this book, and a good half of the time, I had no idea who was actually talking. There were a couple of that I was able to keep up with, but there were so many names that came up to tell their story where all I could think was ‘wait, who???’. It made for a really confusing story.
While the various twists of this book were plotted out well, the build up wasn’t great. Though I wouldn’t have guessed in the beginning what was going to happen with Oliver, as different points were brought up through the book, it was pretty easy to figure out.
All in all, this was an alright book, but it was too confusing and there was too much telling for my tastes. The concept for the book was good and the plot twists would have been stellar, if they hadn’t been so obvious in the lead up. If you like easier thrillers that aren’t going to keep you up at night, complex characters, or lots of points of view in a story, you should definitely check out Unraveling Oliver!
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