We all have sometimes that feeling that someone is watching us…

Synopsis

Listen carefully.

Watch closely.

Trust nobody.

“Let me ask you. Are you worried that someone is watching you, or are you worried that you think someone is watching you?”

Sophie Portman has lost her husband, and she thinks she may be losing her mind.

She seeks the help of psychiatrist Andrew Thacker, but as she starts to open up, the truth begins to unravel and nothing is quite as it seems.

Other People’s Lives is a gripping psychological thriller from bestselling author JE Rowney.

“A heart-stopping twist. I never saw it coming.” – advance reader review.

My review

Sophie Portman is trying to cope with the disappearance of her husband Jack. It’s not easy, as her whole life is on hold. And now she has the feeling that someone is watching her, but nobody believes her.
Of course with no real evidence, Sophie believes she is losing her mind and she seeks the help of psychiatrist Andrew Thacker. It’s not easy to open up to a total stranger, but slowly the truth begins to unravel and Sophie starts to feel better.
However… is Sophie telling the complete truth? And who can be trusted? Is there truly nobody watching Sophie?

Wow, talking about a story with so many twists and turns! I didn’t know at all where the story would go and what the characters were not telling us!

Initially I truly pitied Sophie. Her husband Jack is missing, yet she keeps writing him, hoping that one day they will be together again.
Her situation made her not go to work anymore, and she doesn’t have any real friends. She isn’t really a social person, making her feeling more alone than ever.

And when she starts to sense that someone is watching her, it gave me goose bumps. And Sophie sought help, without any real evidence, everyone would think they are losing their mind. I understood her hesitance of seeking help with a psychoanalyst, but Sophie also knows that she cannot live in constant fear and has to learn to move on.

It’s obvious that Sophie is keeping something from Dr. Thacker, but even if I had a thought about what it was exactly, it isn’t until the very last few chapters that we will figure out what the truth is…
While reading, I also felt a bit scared because as we are reading from different point of views, there is a serious breach of trust where it shouldn’t be…

But reaching closer towards the end, I knew that there would be several revelations. And yes, they were there, but totally NOT what I expected!
Nothing was what it seemed, and people’s actions surprised me and more intrigues were revealed and linked to each other in a way I did not see coming.

Somewhere in the middle I felt my attention linger a little bit, but that was because I wanted to finally get to the revelations and the truth, but once one revelation was out, it all went like an express train. I had to keep my focus to keep on understanding how everything was connected to each other.
And the final act was also something I didn’t see coming, another total unexpected twist, but maybe the best outcome for Sophie and those close to her.

This book totally put me on the wrong track, and made my mind almost explode and left me truly flabbergasted!
After reaching the end, I needed a moment to process just everything that happened and how the author tricked me! And that is a feeling I expect to have after reading a psychological thriller!