Ellen Pall

I swear I will never believe another blurb that claims "acute psychological suspense." I think the last 3-4 books I picked up (with trepidation) that were described thus were most assuredly not what I would consider thrillers. This book is about Liz (or Beth), a stymied PhD candidate who chances into a circumstance that promises to help her get unstuck from a seemingly impossible situation. Her dissertation is all about the works of Anne Taussig Weil (I kept thinking it was Weir -- I could not keep it straight), who wrote a foundational second-wave feminist novel in the 1960s, then faded from public view. Despite Liz' best efforts, Weil has refused her the access, to her works and her mind, that Liz needs to complete her work. So, when Liz stumbles over an ad for a reader-slash-tenant for none other than Weil, she obfuscates her identity and becomes Beth, and secures the spot. It turns out the assignment is to read aloud Anne's journals from a period in her life she wishes to remember as she slowly succumbs to illness. I suppose the "suspense" the reviewers allude to is the subterfuge that Beth employs, to attain illicitly what was not freely given. But, aside from some apprehension on Beth's part, there really is no danger. Perhaps this is a fault in the writing, the author not adept enough to truly build tension, but with or without that, it is an engrossing story. Beth must read some pretty explicit stuff, as the period being relived involves a torrid affair, but there are numerous allusions to the deceit she is reading about even as she is undertaking a pretty serious deceit of her own. I think I had an inkling of the ending, though I didn't mentally spoiler myself by thinking about it too hard, and while it wasn't exactly surprising, it ended on a tantalizing note, which was satisfying.… (meer)