Dream Girl by Laura Lippman

☆☆☆☆☆
.PDF, 288 pages
Expected Publication: July 1st 2021 by Faber and Faber Ltd

About the Book:
How can a woman who never existed come back to haunt you? Gerry Anderson has been having trouble sleeping. He's unwell - bed-bound - and has only his night nurse and his personal assistant for company. But what's really troubling him are the phone calls. Phone calls from a woman claiming to be the 'real' Aubrey. But that can't be. Aubrey's just a character Gerry made up in a book, years ago. Can Gerry see past the ever-blurring lines of fact and fiction and figure out who is threatening him, or has his long-overdue moment of reckoning finally arrived?

My Review:

Dream Girl has the most simplistic plot you could imagine; the majority of the book is set in a single room and from one man's point of view. Lippman's excellent storytelling keeps you hooked from the onset and the character of Gerry is, in my opinion, the most well-developed and complex characters in Lippman's repertoire. The story is shocking without being far-fetched, intriguing without being based on the supernatural, and excellently paced. You actually feel as though you are on a journey with Gerry Andersen (the protagonist). I felt physically exhausted after reading each installment of his ordeal and came to care about what happens to him very much by the end of the book.

I would recommend this book to everyone. Its powerful writing at it's best. Ms. Lippman puts you right there in the room where the action is, you feel the pain, fear and sheer determination of the characters.  Once you start reading it you don't want to stop. One of the best books I have read this year. Keeps you in suspense and that ending was brilliant.

Disclosure:
Thank you NetGalley, Laura Lippman and Faber and Faber Ltd for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#DreamGirl #NetGalley