By Carly Smith
Content warning: sexual assault/rape, harassment
From the outside looking in, the Adler home is perfect: an immaculate yard, a well-maintained house, and hardworking, successful parents. From the inside looking out, however, things are far from perfect. Meet Viv, Thomas, Eli, and Tarryn. On paper, the family is nearly flawless. Viv helps her well-to-do clients remodel rooms in their homes, while Thomas is a local real estate agent. Eli is home from university for the summer, taking some downtime from his impressive soccer talents, and Tarryn is a teenage girl who, much to any parent’s relief, does not appear to be overly consumed by the typical pressures of young adulthood.
What most neighbours and acquaintances are not privy to though, are the Adler’s secrets. Theft, late night video chats in lingerie, sexual assault, and drunken indiscretions haunt the family members. So when their home is continuously targeted by vandals, arsonists, and intruders, and their safety is threatened, each family member has reason to wonder if his or her secrets were the cause. Harding creatively juxtaposes the untarnished façade of a meticulously cared for house with the dreadful metaphorical closet that houses the family’s many skeletons.
The chapters of this page-turning thriller alternate between each family member. Readers are first introduced to the goings-on in the Adler house by Viv, a middle aged wife and decorator who seems to have it all but is feeling little control in her own life. Fearing the worst from her husband and disappointed by a recent choice made by her son, Viv takes on a secret habit to help her cope. Next, we hear from Thomas, a diligent, hardworking man whose attempts to connect with his children often miss the mark. A night of overindulgence paired with his lack of self-awareness lead to several predicaments which pose a threat to not only him, but to his family as well.
Eli, the oldest of the two Adler children, is spending his summer between gaming and working at a pub, causing much despondency in his parents. He can’t think about soccer or school, though, not at the risk of having terrible, nightmarish memories haunt him. Finally, readers are acquainted with Tarryn, only daughter of Viv and Thomas, a cynical yet wise young woman whose escape from high school life starts to interfere with her sense of safety and cause her to second guess her risky decisions.
Choosing to write from the perspective of all four family members was a brave and exciting choice; when authors do this, there is often too much overlap and readers are left disengaged, feeling as if they already know how the book will end. Harding, however, did not overshare and used a unique tone and language for each character. I found myself looking forward to uncovering another character’s take on events, knowing that a few extra details would be added to help me work out the unknowns. I recommend this book for all thriller lovers, and any readers interested in taking a chance with the thriller genre.