REVIEW: Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell

I'm pleased to review the latest novel by one of my go-to authors, Lisa Jewell. Whilst not my favourite by this author I still enjoyed this thought-provoking read. However, be warned it did contain some themes that were slightly uncomfortable reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Random House UK for giving me the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.

Expected: 6 August 2020

The blurb 
When Saffyre Maddox was ten, something terrible happened, and she's carried the pain of it ever since. The man who she thought was going to heal her didn't, and now she hides, learning his secrets, invisible in the shadows.

Owen Pick is invisible too. He's never had a girlfriend; he's never even had a friend.
Nobody sees him. Nobody cares.

But when Saffyre goes missing from opposite his house on Valentine's night, suddenly the whole world is looking at Owen.

Accusing him, holding him responsible for Saffyre's disappearance ...

The review
Despite loving the author this one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The story is about a young woman who goes missing and is told from three points of view; Saffyre’s the missing girl with a troubled childhood, Owen a loner, and Cate the wife of a charismatic child psychologist.

As always I loved the author’s distinctive writing style which makes for easy reading. Likewise I enjoy the way she brings lots of seemingly unrelated different strands and characters together quite spectacularly by the end. And, this one had a great cast of interesting and troubled characters with some complex mental health issues that were well-handled by the author, and provided a fascinating sub-context.

Essentially the underlying concept was societal norms where misfits try to be invisible so as not to be noticed whilst truly vile characters simply mask their true nature to walk among us in plain sight. It really got me thinking, especially in these current times, about how easy it is to misjudge someone who’s different. For example, the “odd” loner who happens to be walking the same way as a young woman is creepy but the attractive runner brushing past somebody is overlooked. Although fiction it also depicts a shocking reality where people are shamed by public opinion, the names and life stories of suspects are widely reported and if they later turn out to be innocent well so what.

What I didn’t like, however, was the plot which contained themes that some readers (myself included) may find uncomfortable including rape and sexual assault. I also like a story where things are wrapped up neatly and the ‘bad’ people get what’s coming to them but without wanting to give anything away this one didn’t quite turn out like that. I also thought the epilogue should have been a bit later in time, as having handled the character’s mental health issues so sensitively this was kind of undone by the speed at which they seemed to easily overcome their issues at the end.

The author
British author Lisa Jewell's first book, Ralph's Party, came out in 1998. Since then, she's gone on to write eighteen contemporary novels and thrillers. Follow @lisajewelluk on Twitter or visit www.lisajewellbooks.com to find out more.