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mecmccann's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Behind Closed Doors was a better version of the same tropes in The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden. In this book, we follow a young girl who meets and quickly marries who she thinks is the man of her dreams. But on their wedding day, her sister and bridesmaid who has downs syndrome falls down the stairs and breaks her leg. They proceed with the wedding, and her new husband turns on her. He confides that it isn't her that he wants, its her sister. (though it's not clear what for. He said this in the same breath as "having sex with you was cumbersome and I didn't want to do it," so I think he wanted to assault her). He locks her in a room, he takes all her money, he starves her and tortures her.
It's dark. I don't mind darkness, in fact, I typically like a psychological horror/thriller book. However, this was too straightforward and lacked any suspense. And this main character was not getting that he wanted to rape her disabled sister and put off getting out of the situation until the absolute last second. Is that where the suspense was? I didn't love this book.
It's dark. I don't mind darkness, in fact, I typically like a psychological horror/thriller book. However, this was too straightforward and lacked any suspense. And this main character was not getting that he wanted to rape her disabled sister and put off getting out of the situation until the absolute last second. Is that where the suspense was? I didn't love this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail