The Death of Us

“The Death of Us” by Abigail Dean tells us the story about Isabel and Edward, a married couple whose lives are shattered after a violent home invasion by a serial killer. After years the perpetrator is brought to court and brings back terrible memories. The story jumps between past and present, revealing how fear, guilt and silence shaped the lives of the victims after the attack. At first these jumps really challenged me but I got used to the style quickly and couldn’t stop reading. The story explores the emotional aftermath and the lasting impact of violence on love and identity, leaving room to explore the emotions of the victims. It’s a captivating and emotional story about survival, memory and whether broken relationships can heal. The story really drew me in and I enjoyed the book a lot. However, I was surprised to learn it’s a thriller.

I really enjoyed this book. I went into the story without much prior knowledge and initially expected a classic thriller. It was only about halfway through that I realized the book’s real strength lies in its depth: it thoughtfully explores how people cope with a life-altering event and how profoundly such a moment can affect those involved. The narrative perspective is particularly compelling. The chapters alternate between a first-person perspective, in which the perpetrator is directly addressed as “you,” and a more distanced third-person perspective. This shift creates an interesting effect: on the one hand, you feel deeply immersed in the story, while on the other, you are occasionally pulled back into the role of an observer. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the background of a crime and the psychological impact on individuals and relationships. The unanswered questions sustain the tension and keep you engaged until the very end.

The promising beginning caught my attention, but it fell flat quite quickly. The main reason being, that I expected a thriller but got a novel with some psychological aspects in it. A lot of the plot didn’t make a lot of sence to me or was just kind of boring. I couldn’t really connect with the protagonists and their story. The writing on the other hand is very beautyful and all in all an easy read. There were some very nice and touching moments, why I’m giving three stars. Not really a book for me, but maybe for you?

The book was mismarketed in my opinion. It was not a thriller but a relationship drama or character study. As we know relatively early on, who did the crime and are following everyone impacted, it is clearly much more about the victims and survivors. Especially focusing on the relationship of Isabel and Edward. I could not connect with these two. So for me the story was about horrible things that happened to horrible people.   I liked the writing style. Although keeping the reader in the dark, I loved the prose and different writing styles (1st person, 3rd person). The timeline and POV were sometimes hard to follow. At some points I gave up trying to understand what’s going on and just kept reading. This book is a very special gem, that was just not for me. I’m not sure whom to recommend the book to. If you like experimental storytelling, a lot of dark and depressing themes and a confusing read, give this book a try.