A review by annalouise
The Hand by Linda Coverdale, Georges Simenon

4.25

An interesting look into a paranoid mind. The novel focuses primarily on Donald’s guilty conscience, and his projection of this onto his ‘controlling’ wife, who he sees as a stand in for his own mother. He fixates on and fears Isabel’s silent judgement in all situations - after his friend’s death, in his affair, and after his mistress breaks things off - as she says nothing. Reading her eyes, he finds the reflection of his own guilt, and this causes him to act out against her, as a son would his mother. Overall, a short and compelling read starring a man who fears his own madness so much that it drives him deeper into it.