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rowingrabbit's review against another edition
2.0
From the outside, one would think Gaby Mortimer had the perfect life. A successful, handsome husband, an adorable daughter, glamorous career as cohost on a morning show & a beautiful home in an affluent part of London. They'd be wrong.
The house is great & Millie is a sweetie. But Gaby & Philip are not the people they used to be & have drifted apart. And at work, Gaby has the feeling they are planning on trading her in for a younger model. She does her best to keep up the facade in both places but the stress is getting to her.
Things really start to unravel when she stumbles over the body of a young woman while running in the park. Before she knows it, she's the prime suspect. DI Perivale seems to have it in for her. Incessant questioning & a night in jail lead to her bosses suggesting she take a few days off...TV speak for "you're fired". And don't even start on the throng of press camped on her front lawn. All while Philip is attending meetings in Singapore.
There are peripheral characters that flesh out the story, notably her BFF Clara, a determined journalist named Jack & Marta, the nanny.
The novel has a good premise. The problem is how long it takes before you really get invested in the characters & start to pay attention. It's almost as if a different author wrote the last third, by far the best part of this book.
Initially, I found Gaby a difficult person to like. She comes across as brittle, flighty & fake. I know she's desperately trying to hold on to her life but her personality & behaviour make it hard to feel any sympathy for her & you really need to for the story to work. Philip is depicted as absent & self centred, a bland & pretentious kind of guy. It's only in the final pages that they become interesting & more three dimensional.
The plot itself is promising but you have to care about the characters or find them compelling to get into a book, preferably early on. Much of the dialogue is initially superficial & a tighter edit on Gaby's endless streams of consciousness would have helped. I know other reviewers have mentioned the way DI Perivale was depicted. I didn't have an issue with his character but PC Morrow comes across as a giggly schoolgirl spouting all kinds of nonsense. A more realistic characterization would have added some much needed weight to the story, particularly in the beginning.
As with all books, it's a matter of taste. If you've read something by this author before & enjoyed their writing style, no doubt you'll like this as well.
The house is great & Millie is a sweetie. But Gaby & Philip are not the people they used to be & have drifted apart. And at work, Gaby has the feeling they are planning on trading her in for a younger model. She does her best to keep up the facade in both places but the stress is getting to her.
Things really start to unravel when she stumbles over the body of a young woman while running in the park. Before she knows it, she's the prime suspect. DI Perivale seems to have it in for her. Incessant questioning & a night in jail lead to her bosses suggesting she take a few days off...TV speak for "you're fired". And don't even start on the throng of press camped on her front lawn. All while Philip is attending meetings in Singapore.
There are peripheral characters that flesh out the story, notably her BFF Clara, a determined journalist named Jack & Marta, the nanny.
The novel has a good premise. The problem is how long it takes before you really get invested in the characters & start to pay attention. It's almost as if a different author wrote the last third, by far the best part of this book.
Initially, I found Gaby a difficult person to like. She comes across as brittle, flighty & fake. I know she's desperately trying to hold on to her life but her personality & behaviour make it hard to feel any sympathy for her & you really need to for the story to work. Philip is depicted as absent & self centred, a bland & pretentious kind of guy. It's only in the final pages that they become interesting & more three dimensional.
The plot itself is promising but you have to care about the characters or find them compelling to get into a book, preferably early on. Much of the dialogue is initially superficial & a tighter edit on Gaby's endless streams of consciousness would have helped. I know other reviewers have mentioned the way DI Perivale was depicted. I didn't have an issue with his character but PC Morrow comes across as a giggly schoolgirl spouting all kinds of nonsense. A more realistic characterization would have added some much needed weight to the story, particularly in the beginning.
As with all books, it's a matter of taste. If you've read something by this author before & enjoyed their writing style, no doubt you'll like this as well.
kimbofo's review against another edition
4.0
Tautly written psychological thrillers featuring morally dubious characters don’t come much better than the ones penned by London-based writer Sabine Durrant. This is the third Durrant I’ve read and it certainly won’t be the last.
In Under Your Skin breakfast TV presenter Gaby Mortimer finds the body of a murdered woman lying in bushes when she is out on one of her early morning runs across Clapham Common. She does the right thing and calls the police, but later she is arrested for the crime, setting into motion a whole chain of events, which results in Gaby being hounded by the press, losing her job and then being ostracised by all who know her.
Written in the first person, present tense, the narrative moves along at a cracking pace as Gaby, a happily married middle-class working mother, tries to defend her innocence alone while her hedge fund husband heads abroad unaware of his wife’s predicament. There are lots of twists and turns in the plot and half the fun is guessing the world-be murderer — is it Gaby’s live-in nanny, her long-time stalker or one of the journalists she befriends to tell her side of the story? The denouement is suitably unexpected and shocking, making for a terrific end to a truly compelling read.
In Under Your Skin breakfast TV presenter Gaby Mortimer finds the body of a murdered woman lying in bushes when she is out on one of her early morning runs across Clapham Common. She does the right thing and calls the police, but later she is arrested for the crime, setting into motion a whole chain of events, which results in Gaby being hounded by the press, losing her job and then being ostracised by all who know her.
Written in the first person, present tense, the narrative moves along at a cracking pace as Gaby, a happily married middle-class working mother, tries to defend her innocence alone while her hedge fund husband heads abroad unaware of his wife’s predicament. There are lots of twists and turns in the plot and half the fun is guessing the world-be murderer — is it Gaby’s live-in nanny, her long-time stalker or one of the journalists she befriends to tell her side of the story? The denouement is suitably unexpected and shocking, making for a terrific end to a truly compelling read.
big_gav's review against another edition
1.0
Why does everyone think they can write the next Girl on a Train? You can’t. This was weak, derivative and just irritating. The editing was shoddy, with american language thrown in to make it easier for the transatlantic crowd. Who laces up loafers? Picky I know but I worked my way through to the end to see if it would get better. Spoiler alert...it didn’t.
readwithnale's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the plot so much its do gripping and totally unexpected.. loved every part of it the suspense is unbelievable it kept me guessing and the best part is the ending it made me shiver! Just Brilliant and an amazing start to a new Year
lani_neumann's review against another edition
4.0
This is a page turner much like Girl on a Train, but not quite as captivating. It's def worth a read and I couldn't put it down, esp toward the end. A bit light in the suspense area but it drew me in and didn't disappoint.
caffeinatedreviewer's review against another edition
4.0
I decided to take Under Your Skin on a date. 4.5
First Date: We meet Gaby Mortimer. At first glance, she seems to have it all. A posh home, a successful husband and a beautiful daughter. She is a successful television anchor for the local morning show and local celebrity. The woman has a live in maid and nanny for cripes sake. I was a tad jealous. We meet Gabby on a run through the park where she discovers the body of a murdered woman. The tale is told from Gabby’s perspective and at first her thoughts were busy, scattered, and she seemed fake. I was slightly nervous and had trouble settling into the tale.
Second Date: The police have a suspect. We quickly begin to make assumptions as to who the murderer is. Gaby’s perfect world doesn’t look so perfect, In fact, I being to feel sorry for her. She befriends a reporter and through him we see the sad facts of Gaby’s life. I have begun to suspect those closest to her. Incidentally, I love the British setting and dialect. Kudos to the publishers for not ripping this book apart and making it more American for the US release. Win! Gaby’s husband is an ass..just sayin’
Third Date: OMG! *Twists, turns, reveals, clues and pointing fingers* I have a list of suspects, and they all look good. I may actually like Gaby, but she needs to take charge and stop letting people walk all over her. The tale has humorous moments, and quirks. The friendship with Jack is helping reveal more clues. I have become accustom to the writing, and I am completely submersed in the story. The ending..OH MY!!!
Under Your Skin was an exciting, dark and suspenseful thriller. When I finished reading and closed the book my first thought was, “Sabine Durrant, you clever, clever girl.” Fans of Gillian Flynn, Megan Shepherd, and S.J. Watson will find this tale engaging.
Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer
First Date: We meet Gaby Mortimer. At first glance, she seems to have it all. A posh home, a successful husband and a beautiful daughter. She is a successful television anchor for the local morning show and local celebrity. The woman has a live in maid and nanny for cripes sake. I was a tad jealous. We meet Gabby on a run through the park where she discovers the body of a murdered woman. The tale is told from Gabby’s perspective and at first her thoughts were busy, scattered, and she seemed fake. I was slightly nervous and had trouble settling into the tale.
Second Date: The police have a suspect. We quickly begin to make assumptions as to who the murderer is. Gaby’s perfect world doesn’t look so perfect, In fact, I being to feel sorry for her. She befriends a reporter and through him we see the sad facts of Gaby’s life. I have begun to suspect those closest to her. Incidentally, I love the British setting and dialect. Kudos to the publishers for not ripping this book apart and making it more American for the US release. Win! Gaby’s husband is an ass..just sayin’
Third Date: OMG! *Twists, turns, reveals, clues and pointing fingers* I have a list of suspects, and they all look good. I may actually like Gaby, but she needs to take charge and stop letting people walk all over her. The tale has humorous moments, and quirks. The friendship with Jack is helping reveal more clues. I have become accustom to the writing, and I am completely submersed in the story. The ending..OH MY!!!
Under Your Skin was an exciting, dark and suspenseful thriller. When I finished reading and closed the book my first thought was, “Sabine Durrant, you clever, clever girl.” Fans of Gillian Flynn, Megan Shepherd, and S.J. Watson will find this tale engaging.
Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer
sternyblossom's review against another edition
3.0
I would give this 3.5 stars. I can see why it’s being compared to Gone Girl. Definitely a page turner. I think it made my blood pressure rise a few points, too. I was ready to throw my Kindle across the room a few times.
minimicropup's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
I actually hated this (no hate to anyone who enjoyed it). I had high hopes because the synopsis sounded so intriguing, but unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me at all. I think this book was trying to emulate the psychological tension of Gone Girl but I think it failed miserably.
- The writing style was verbose and dry and fragmented. The language was overly complex trying too hard to be gritty and edgy.
- Clunky transitions and short, stilted sentences. I swear, sometimes it was a literal word salad.
- Chapters dragged on with nothing happening, it was excruciatingly slow. It was always telling when I wanted to be shown and showing when it should have just been said.
- The main character narrates in such a disjointed way that it was hard to follow. She’d reference people or events with no explanation as if we should know them.
- Something important would happen and our main character would skip the summary to give detailed descriptions of trivial things like a shoe (there’s a reason for this but…ugh).
- The plot was overly contrived and gimmicky.
- The main character’s behavior around the police made no sense, which made this immediately predictable for what the ‘twist’ is.
- The main character was one-dimensional. Being cryptic and repetitive was her core personality.
- The reveal felt ick like it was trying to go for a female rage good-for-her, but it’s the opposite.
- There’s a transphobic comment that felt outdated even for 2013?
📚 Format: Paperback
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