My Phantom Husband

If you like being in someone's mind for an entirety of a novel - this books does it superbly.

Mild spoilers incoming, and at the end major spoilers - read at your own risk. If you read the blurb, it sums up the novel so I'm not hiding this review. One last time though - read at your own risk.

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I'm absolutely blown away by the writing. I love this sense of dread I felt during reading, I was hoping beyond words our narrator could find reprieve in the end - but alas, this doesn't happen, and I don't believe thats the point of the novel anyways.

Our narrators husband disappears after going to get some bread at the store. First off, how eerie. I often ask my partner to go and get something at the store if I forgot an item (which is almost always, shout-out to fellow people with ADHD). I would be flabbergasted, distraught, mentally unwound if he just never came back. At what point do you start asking for help?

As our narrator grasps with this realization she of course comes undone. The initial part kicks in where you find her worried of society's bias if she announced her husband is gone - is he just out cheating? You drive him away? Which is gut wrenching, as if the gender roles reversed, a husband would not think of those things or be asked to. At least not initially. She keeps coming up with the scenarios that would make sense. His mother is ill - so did it get worse and he went to be by her bed side? Or - maybe some unavoidable task came up at work, and he needed to take care of it immediately. Over and over again she tries to ascertain what is the truth for him and genuinely struggles to find footings. The thing I appreciate about this book the most is that it's something I've always wanted from a mystery or thriller book. Gillian Flynn is the only one who I bow down to for getting to be in someone else's mind during tragic events but other than that I don't get that itch. I'm really happy I stumbled across this book, by accident all because I was trying to buy “My Phantoms” by Gwendolyn Riley, and this one popped up first. Peaked my interest - astounded by the motions this novel tackles without using cheap throw ins e.g. police, investigations, suspected people, etc.

As our narrators panic gets severe, the depression, the confusion and heart break of this man - a loyal, kind hearted person - is still not to be found as the novel progresses kicks in, her mental and emotional state goes down the rabbit hole. Possible hallucinations, hallucinations getting mixed with real events, consume her. We essentially end on that note and we are left to wonder if it'll ever be different for her, if he'll ever be found or on the completely side note of her friend Jacqueline suggested, taken from an alien invasion.

Beautifully tragic, I highly recommend.