I’ve always enjoyed Liane Moriarty’s books, but I think this one is my new favourite. I don’t think it was so much the subject matter of the book, but just the entertainment value of a well told story that I liked so much.
Ellen is a 35 year old hypnotherapist with her own practice. Successful in her chosen field and living in her grandparents old house on Avalon Beach in Sydney, the only thing missing from her life is a relationship. Turning to the internet, she thinks she has hit the jackpot when she meets Patrick. A handsome, seemingly stable man with a decent job, he is also a widower with a young son. It is only a few dates in that he reveals his secret – he has a stalker named Saskia. In a relationship with her for three years, Patrick has moved on but she refuses to let go.
As a professional Ellen cannot help but be fascinated by Saskia’s behaviour and a little taken aback at Patrick’s seemingly brutal attitude towards the woman he once shared his life with. As the story moves on and Ellen and Patrick’s relationship intensifies, so does Saskia’s interference in their life.
There are several other themes interwoven into the storyline, including the issues of grief and loss from many angles, the complications and joys of dating in your thirties and forties and the usual dramas involving family dynamics, female friendships and the fascinating field of hypnotherapy.I loved the way you got a real sense of how it works through the story, without feeling like you were getting heaps of technical info about it.
I really liked the fact that Ellen was a woman in her thirties, rather than in her mid twenties. The reality is that there are a lot of “normal” accomplished woman in that age group still searching for “the one”. Although she has helped many of her clients overcome their relationship issues, she hasn’t quite sorted out her own. I also liked the way she highlighted the positives of meeting someone at that age – like the fact you actually know what you want and who you are – rather than portraying Ellen as someone who is desperate for a man and willing to compromise who she is just to get one.
It was great to read a book by an author and get just what you have come to expect from them and more. All in all this was a really entertaining book and ultimately a sweet love story that I just couldn’t put down.
