Review: Disclaimer

I read Renee Knight’s Disclaimer in seven hours on Saturday. I took it to the coffee shop where I forgot to drink said coffee, so engrossed was I and I took it home where I read instead of eating and my Saturday night was so rock and roll that it involved nothing but my bed and my cat and this book. This, then, (and I think you’d agree) is the mark of A Good Book. I’ve been itching to read it actually, there’s been a lot of buzz surrounding it for weeks now and every single tweet and post I’ve read has left me more and more excited, especially given that I have a liking of psychological thrillers at the moment. I go through phases like that, like, I can not read a thriller for months and then suddenly I cannot get enough. The cover on the proof copy is excellent too, by the way, really really effective work so bravo to whoever designed that. Loved it

Basically if you want some kind of summary which you likely do because this is a review, Catherine Ravenscroft finds a mysterious novel by her bed. Though it claims to be fictional, the story is that of her deepest darkest secret and the author seems intent on revealing it, and tearing Catherine’s world apart. 

I know right, so intriguing. So intriguing.

So *puts on serious reviewer head* Disclaimer is an atmospheric ‘tale of two halves’ following Catherine as she tries to figure out what is going on with this book that’s appeared from nowhere and is so painfully obviously about her, and Stephen -  a widower who finds his life unravelling in an entirely different way.  And you know, it’s SO TENSE all the time. This is a book that is all about perceptions and versions of the truth; it's really really cleverly done and the story is so well-crafted and Catherine and Stephen are both so well drawn that for a lot of the time you’re never really quite sure exactly what happened or which side you should be on – despite the fact that neither of them are particularly likeable. (Holy run-on sentence batman. I’m so sorry.) You just don’t know who to sympathise with and neither of them are particularly reliable narrators not to mention the fact that you are drip fed information at a tantalisingly slow rate so you're always sort of second guessing both them and yourself. Like I said: intrigue. 
ALSO you have all the plot twists and all the secrets and all the shocking reveals; it really is kind of great, especially when you tie in all the emotions and the family dramas and all this other stuff that keep the story driving forward and make Disclaimer more than just a thriller. 

I loooove that you start off knowing nothing, not a thing, and God, you really want to know all the things.  Then, when you least expect it, there’s what you think is a light bulb moment and you settle a little into thinking you do know at least some of the things and then something else happens that throws it all into question. You just, you don’t know what the hell you’re reading, you just know that it’s SO GOOD.  I also thought the whole switch between first and third person and back again was a really effective tool in regards to changing perceptions and distinguishing between this and that; for the most part it was a little like being in a maze of words which is really really excellent because that’s what this book is about: the not knowing and the things that are hidden and how and the destructive power of secrets.

Yes, this is highly recommended. I liked it. If you’re making a list of books to read in April then you should put Disclaimer on that list. It’s released on the 9^th. & when this book is a super duper hit and everyone is reading it and it’s made into a hit movie a la Before I Go to Sleep and Gone Girl, well, remember you heard it here first (unless you didn’t, obvs.)