Coming out soon: The End of Her by Shari Lapena

When I saw this book on Edelweiss, I thought "why not?"

Shari Lapena has a solid reputation as a thriller author, so I had high expectations about it.

The first problem was with the plot: psycho ex- lover (and blonde, of course) coming back to bring hell to the lives of a young and rich American couple? Already heard of it.

That is what happens here. Erica is a fatal blonde, with no murderous instinct, but  she would be ready to do almost anything for money. From blackmail to stalking, up to pushing someone else towards murder. The tension underlying the narration is actually just much ado about nothing. There is no real coup-de-theatre here to surprise the reader. You can guess how it will end from the start almost.

Let's get this straight. The book actually kept me wondering and reading on, thanks to a fast pace and a continuous change of perspective. I also appreciated the way Lapena built an adverse feeling in me towards Erica. I really hated her. But that is not enough to hide the lack of ingenuity in the plot and the feeling that, somewhere towards the end, the author didn't actually know how to close it all.

The funniest part for an old-Europe observer like me was the setting: New York, a residential suburb, where wives are mothers at any cost, spending their time between sitting at the park and sharing cakes or lasagna and trying to get some rest from childcare (Stephanie's twins are actually more evil than badass Erica somehow, but it would be unfair to kill them....while Erica....), while their husbands have great careers to follow and maybe some lover on the side. Just amazing how there is no baby sitter around .... ;)