She Treads Softly: Look Closer

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Look Closer

Look Closer by David Ellis
7/5/22; 464 pages
G.P. Putman's Sons

Look Closer by David Ellis is a very highly recommended thriller that is guaranteed to surprise you. This one's a winner, especially if you love clever, complex mysteries!

Opening with the hanged body of Lauren Betancourt being discovered in her home on October 31st, the novel flashes back and forth between the present and the past. Simon Dobias and Vicky Lanier Dobias have been married for almost ten years. Simon is an associate law professor and Vicky is an advocate for domestic violence victims. When Simon sees Lauren, a woman he knew 19 years ago, back in the suburban Chicago area near him, he initiates contact with her and an illicit affair begins. Vicky, in the meantime, is making plans to get her hands on Simon's 21 million dollar trust fund with the help of financial adviser Christian Newsome. But hold onto your hats because nothing is as it seems.

Look Closer is an extremely well-written, clever, original, complex, fast paced, and mind-blowing twisty thriller that will hold your attention from beginning to end. Forget the page count as this one will make the pages fly by. Pay attention and follow the characters and chapter titles closely as the plot unfolds through multiple points-of-view and excerpts from Simon's journal. This format serves the structure of Look Closer well by adding depth and complexity to the narrative. Follow the story and be prepared to not know what you think you know. Trust me, this one has it all and you will not be able to guess where it is going. Any comparisons to Gone Girl are apropos.

None of the characters are trustworthy or even especially likeable, with one exception being Sgt. Jane Burke, the officer investigating Lauren's murder. Other than that, allow for an even paced start to introduce the characters and set up the action after which the plot will race at a breakneck pace. Remember to look for clues as the intricate story evolves and trust no one. Look Closer is an exceptional thriller/mystery and should not be missed.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the Penguin Group via NetGalley.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.