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Summary
Summary
A mesmerizing tale of psychological suspense about a woman who must fight to escape an expert manipulator determined to possess her, Claire Kendal's debut novel is a sophisticated and disturbing portrait of compulsion, control, and terror that will appeal to fans of Before I Go to Sleep, The Silent Wife, and Into the Darkest Corner.
His name is Rafe, and he is everywhere Clarissa turns. At the university where she works. Her favorite sewing shop. The train station. Outside her apartment. His messages choke her voice mail; his gifts litter her mailbox. Since that one regrettable night, his obsession with her has grown, becoming more terrifying with each passing day. And as Rafe has made clear, he will never let her go.
Clarissa's only escape from this harrowing nightmare is inside a courtroom--where she is a juror on a trial involving a victim whose experiences eerily parallel her own. There she finds some peace and even makes new friends, including an attractive widower named Robert, whose caring attentions make her feel desired and safe. But as a disturbingly violent crime unfolds in the courtroom, Clarissa realizes that to survive she must expose Rafe herself. Conceiving a plan, she begins collecting the evidence of Rafe's madness to use against him--a record of terror that will force her to relive every excruciating moment she desperately wants to forget. Proof that will reveal the twisted, macabre fairy tale that Rafe has spun around them . . . with an ending more horrifying than her darkest fears.
Masterfully constructed, filled with exquisite tension and a pervasive sense of menace, The Book of You explores the lines between love and compulsion, fantasy and reality, and offers a heart-stopping portrait of a woman determined to survive. Claire Kendal's extraordinary debut will haunt readers long after it reaches its terrifying, breathtaking conclusion.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Obsession masquerades as love in British author Kendal's intimate, chilling first novel, an update of Samuel Richardson's Clarissa. One night, after a launch party at a Bath bookshop for a scholarly study of fairy tales, Clarissa Bourne agrees to let the book's author, academic Rafe Solmes, walk her home. The next morning, she awakens with Rafe in her bed, with no memory of how she got there and the suspicion that he's drugged and raped her. Although she avoids him, he calls and texts constantly, lurks near her house, and showers her with unwanted (but extravagant) gifts. Summoned for jury duty, Clarissa watches a rape victim pilloried on the witness stand, and she realizes how easily Rafe could discredit her stalking allegations. So she meticulously documents his efforts to contact her. Rafe goes from being manipulative to overtly menacing, especially after Clarissa becomes involved with a fellow juror. With flawless timing, the author traces how Rafe isolates Clarissa, threatens her, and pries into the most private details of her life, while also deftly incorporating Rafe's interest in sadistic, sexually violent fairy tales. Kendal spins a tale that's troubling, raw, and gripping. Agent: Euan Thorneycroft, A.M. Heath (U.K.). (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
This debut novel's allusions to Samuel Richardson's Clarissa and to classic fairy tales provide a sophisticated veneer to what, in essence, is a creepy portrait of a stalker. Clarissa Bourne agrees to attend a book reading by her academic colleague Rafe Solmes but wakes up the next morning entirely unsure of what happened. Did he rape her? Did he drug her wine? She is soon on the receiving end of a barrage of text messages and unwanted gifts and is relieved when she is summoned to jury duty, hoping it will give her some respite from his unwanted attentions. The trial only serves to heighten her anxiety when the defendant, a rape victim, is degraded and humiliated by the prosecution. The defendant's treatment inspires Clarissa to meticulously record Rafe's overtures, which become increasingly threatening, especially after Clarissa grows closer to a fellow juror. Kendal expertly heightens the suspense while offering a disturbing portrait of a clever stalker who believes himself to be in love even as he engages in malevolent acts that undermine Clarissa's sense of identity and control.--Wilkinson, Joanne Copyright 2014 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
Kendal's first novel pays homage to Samuel Richardson's "Clarissa" while also cribbing straight from the worst nightmare of every woman who's found herself fending off advances from that too-ardent suitor who doesn't get the hint. It opens with Clarissa, a British university secretary still recovering from a painful breakup, already on to Rafe, the co-worker who has become obsessed with her after a drunken coupling. Terrified of not being taken seriously by the police, or of being blamed for her torment, she's begun keeping meticulous records of Rate's every move. Will she gather enough evidence? Or will she wait too long to take it all - the notes, the black roses, the unwanted jewelry, the lurid photos - to authorities? Clarissa's is a dark tale, made no lighter by the fact that she's also serving jury duty on a gruesome sexual assault case. Her story's few rays of hope come in the form of a handsome fellow juror. In parts, the details are stomach-churningly baroque, maybe even unnecessarily so; but what's truly riveting is watching the ways Clarissa's silence is both understandable and possibly her undoing.
Library Journal Review
Clarissa is a juror on a violent case of stalking and manipulation. Day after day, she is forced to listen to the testimony of a woman who has been hunted by someone who said he loved her. Likewise, when Clarissa walks out of the courtroom, she knows that her own stalker is waiting for her. Ever since that one mistaken night, Rafe has followed her, watching her every move. He sends her gifts and floods her voice mail with messages. Rafe is clever and masks his true intentions under the guise of kindness. As the trial and her own nightmare develop on a parallel plane, Clarissa devises a plan to rid herself of Rafe forever. In order to obtain her freedom, she must decide how far she is willing to go to survive. Verdict Kendal's debut novel is a palpitating tale of obsession and dangerously unrequited love. Fans of Gone Girl and The Silent Wife will enjoy the delectable tension right up until the heart-stopping conclusion. [See Prepub Alert, 11/11/13.]-Caitlin Beauregard, MLIS, New York (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
