When everyone thinks it’s all in your mind…

Synopsis

Is someone dangerous out to get her? Or is it all in her mind?

Becky’s life is almost perfect. Growing up, she could never have imagined living in such a safe, beautiful home, with a boyfriend as loving and kind as Alex, and hopes for a little family of her own. But then stand-offish Max moves in next door, and things begin to fall apart.

First, someone starts trolling her social media. Then she finds her tyres slashed. By the time she discovers the dead bird, left waiting for her like a prize, she’s sure someone is after her. And having spied some strange goings-on beyond her kitchen window, she suspects that person is Max.

Frightened, Becky turns to Alex for help, but she’s surprised to find that he and Max have become firm friends—and that Alex is convinced it’s all in her mind. But when news of a missing young woman breaks, Becky knows she has to do something. She’s sure she’s seen this woman in Max’s home—hasn’t she?

With Alex concerned that she’s losing her grip on reality, does Becky dare keep digging, knowing her almost-perfect life could shatter into imperfect little pieces?

My review

After a traumatic childhood, Becky has finally the safe and beautiful home she always dreamed of. With her boyfriend Alex now the next step is having a small family of their own. Nothing could be any better.
That is, until Max moves next door…
Not only does it seem that he is constantly appearing to stare at her, now there is someone trolling her on social media, slashing her tires, and even leaves a dead bird.
Becky feels that someone is watching her, and she suspects her new neighbour. But no matter how frightened Becky feels, Alex isn’t giving her the much needed support, as he and Max have become real friends. Even worse, Alex thinks it’s all in her head.
With no actual proof, is Becky truly imaging things? Or does she sees Max for who he really is? And how far and deep is Becky prepared to dig? 

Don’t we all have had that feeling that someone is watching us, but when we turn around there is nobody to be seen?
But how would you feel when you appear to have that feeling more and more? Well, I know I would be terrified! 

It’s clear from the start in this book that Becky is a happy woman at the moment. She has a job that she likes doing, has lovely friends and she is living together with her wonderful boyfriend Alex and they are ready to start a family together.
Yet it is also obvious that Becky hasn’t been this happy all the time. Having been into foster care after a traumatic event when she was five, has made her always dream of a safe place where she would truly belong. 

Her safe place unfortunately doesn’t feel that safe anymore once she has a new neighbour. We all hope that our new neighbours are the best kind, and we hope to become all friendly. But when it’s clear that Max isn’t that kind of neighbour, I also understood why Becky didn’t want to make a big scene about it all. Because in the end, you all have to live next to each other. 

However, since Max has moved, it’s also all when it goes downwards for Becky. She finds herself in situations she has never found herself in before, even at work things aren’t going good anymore. And I felt for her, seeing how her sense of safety started to disappear. 

But it saddened me even more to see that nowhere she could find some comfort. Yes, she has her friends, but they all have a life of their own. But at work, her boss seems to even enjoy the problems Becky is facing, and it even looks like the boss is finding ways to get Becky out of the place.
And I couldn’t be more disappointed in Alex… I understand that it’s difficult to agree with Becky’s fears. But if your partner is feeling this way, wouldn’t you be a little more supportive, even if you don’t see actual proof? 

Talking about proof… yes, someone is trolling her on the internet, yes, a viewing of a house went terribly wrong, even a dead bird has been placed on her car. But nowhere, with exception of some staring contest, there is no actual proof that Max, her prime suspect, is the culprit.
And while I wanted to believe Becky, even I started to doubt her a little bit the further along I was reading this book. 

It’s a slow book, where the readers just like Becky are trying to make sense of it all. Is Becky truly losing her mind? Or is Max after her? But why should he, when they don’t know each other at all?
And while it all goes at a slow pace, suddenly it all went at highspeed. There is such a long build-up, and I feel that towards the end, it all went a little bit too fast at once.
The way the pieces of the puzzle fell together didn’t give me the 100% satisfaction I thought it would give. There were a bit too many things happening at once. 

While this book shows perfectly how tricks can be played on someone’s mind, and how your sense of safety can easily disappear, it didn’t give me goosebumps or made me look over my shoulder myself. But that doesn’t mean that now I will close my curtains even sooner in the evening! Because you will never know if someone is watching you…