Gone Girl is on its way to becoming a modern classic. It breathed new life into the mystery genre, it took risks and it subverted cliches. So why am I talking about Gone Girl in a review for Behind Her Eyes? Because every suspense book put out today is trying to be the next Gone Girl and there’s no reason to have a subpar Gone Girl when Gone Girl already exists. Good character development and atmospheric writing all gets sacrificed because everyone has to outdo everyone else on the damn twist ending.
I can’t be bothered to remember the character’s names. There’s Manipulative Stepford Wife with Possible Mental Illness, her Traditionally Handsome Husband Who Is Sick Of Her But Stays Because Of Some Secret, and Mousey, Unassuming Divorcee That The Reader Will Identify With. Husband has affair with Mouse. Mouse becomes good friends with Stepford. *TWIST* Stepford teaches Mouse to project her consciousness during sleep. *SUPERNATURAL TWIST* Husband may have killed someone, but maybe it was Stepford instead. *TWIST* Stepford wife can also project when she sleeps. *TWIST* Stepford isn’t really the original Stepford, but Tertiary Character Who Also Learned To Project. *T to the WIST*
Was the ending bullshit? Yes.
Did I still stay up until 2am to finish the book? Absolutely.
Look, I know writers want to get paid and publishers are probably only buying books they can market as the next Gone Girl. But can readers just get a little bit of respect? At least make sure your twist ending will be satisfying.
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