My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:
1. I’m in a coma.
2. My husband doesn’t love me any more.
3. Sometimes I lie.
With such strong and compelling opening line, three questions are in order.
1. How come did Amber Reynolds end up in a coma?
2. Why does her husband not love her anymore?
3. What is she lying about?
Of these three questions, only one is answered successfully, the first one. The fact that her husband does not love her anymore did not seem very relevant to me as Amber's past started to unfold and also the implication that she lies makes the ending much more complicated (not necessarily a good thing from my perspective). I remembered I had to keep something in mind and never let go, sometimes the narrator will lie. Even though the novel has many unexpected and wicked twists, I really expected the novel to go further. Still, it's a good psychological thriller about secrets and half truths.
PLOT
Amber Reynolds lies in her hospital bed in comma. She is completely conscious of everything around her, but she does not remember how she ended up in this scary situation.
We go back in time and we are introduced to Amber some time before she entered in a comma. She is a journalist who is competing with Madeleine Frost. They have never gotten along and Amber gets an ultimatum: she must find a solution to her conflict with Madeleine or she will be fired. Madeleine is the star of the show and Amber begins a plan to get rid of her by sending her threatening letters as well as making her believe that she will be fired and replaced by a new host.
Besides this, Amber is dealing with a marriage that starts to crumble as we are introduced to two other characters: her husband, Paul and her sister, Claire. It seems something strange is happening between Paul and Claire that Amber wants to stop, but she is unable to express clearly what it is.
Amber runs into an ex boyfriend, Edward, who appears to be indifferent to her as they run into, but later it is revealed he has been following Amber for months. Number of suspects at the moment? Four: Paul, Edward, Claire and Madeleine. Who will hurt Amber? Is she lying about the events that took place prior to her accident?
What is true is that Amber has many enemies, too many people who would want to hurt her, herself included. However, the answer is not in the present or the immediate past, but a remote time that Amber has always wanted to leave behind.
STRUCTURE
The novel covers three timelines intertwined to the writer's discretion. Timeline A focuses on Amber on her current situation during her comma (Boxing Day: December 26), Timeline B covers the events prior to the accident that caused Amber's comma (starting just 1 week before, starting on December 19th) and diary entries from 1991. They are all narrated in first person.
THEMES
Mental illness is the major theme of the novel, OCD, borderline personality disorder, paranoia, possibly split personality disorder as well.
The novel highlights the importance of communication and the misunderstandings caused by half truths. Amber's life spirals out of control for her inability to communicate her discomfort with her adoptive sister and her marriage starts to crumble for the mistrust that she has developed throghout time as a way to survive.
ABOUT THE ENDING:
The novel started in a messy way, from my point of view, the character of Edward and Madeleine took unnecessary relevance that deviated from the really juicy revelations that would follow. They are red-herrings that got needless protagonism.
The ending was satisfying with the revelation that it was Claire who made the car crash after discovering Amber was pregnant (yes, to make her lose her child)
CHARACTER: 7/10
PLOT DEVELOPMENT: 6/10
THEMES: 7/10
GRADE: Good
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