The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane

Y’all, I don’t know what I was thinking, reading this story of a mentally-abused old woman after finishing a book about a woman forced to care for her mentally abusive mother….I’m picking up something about puppies next time, I swear. I’m going to have nightmares otherwise.

The Night Guest, which a few other people have reviewed for CBR with mixed results, is one of those books that makes you curl up under the covers because you know what’s going to happen and you can’t stop it and you can’t put down the book. It’s creepy and unsettling and very well-written.

The Goodreads summary says: “Ruth is widowed, her sons are grown, and she lives in an isolated beach house outside of town. Her routines are few and small. One day a stranger arrives at her door, looking as if she has been blown in from the sea. This woman—Frida—claims to be a care worker sent by the government. Ruth lets her in.” And I really think that’s all you really should going in.

My feelings for Ruth and Fiona throughout this book made it really work for me. I got totally and completely sucked in. The story, and the ending, are predictable in the sense that you know what will probably happen, but not knowing how and not being sure made me incapable of stopping. It was quite the ride. And reading a book written from the perspective of a woman who might be losing her mind makes it that much more stressful.