Book Review: His & Hers by Alice Feeney

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

“There are at least two sides to every story: Yours and mine. Ours and theirs. His and hers. Which means someone is always lying.”

Anna Andrews loves her job as BBC Anchorwoman responsible for presenting the One O’Clock News bulletin. She has held this position for almost two years ever since the previous presenter Cat Jones went on maternity leave. Much to her disappointment Cat returns and resumes her position and Anna is relegated to the role of Correspondent and assigned to cover a case in Blackdown where the body of a local woman has been discovered in the woods. She is reluctant to travel to Blackdown which is revealed to be her hometown and a place she does not want to return to.

DCI Jack Harper heads the Major Crimes Unit in Blackdown. He has moved there after his divorce and is somewhat pleased to have an actual crime to devote his time to. He is assisted by DS Priya Patel who is relatively inexperienced but dedicated and eager to please her boss.

The case becomes complicated when he realizes that the victim is someone he knows as does Anna. Anna and Jack are no strangers to one another either, having been married and only recently divorced after the death of their infant daughter. The story unfolds through three POVs – Jack’s (His), Anna’s (Hers) and an unnamed narrator who we presume to be the killer. The murders continue, several characters from the past and new ones make their appearances with a fair share of lies and secrets being revealed and now everyone seems untrustworthy and looks guilty!

“We are a species of liars, and sometimes we deliberately join the dots in the wrong order, and pretend to make sense of what we see. We stretch the stories of our lives to fit our own desired narratives, presenting a prettier picture for those around us. Honesty loses every time to a lie less ordinary, and truth is overrated.”

Alice Feeney’s His & Hers is a dark twisty psychological thriller that will keep you guessing till the very last page. Her writing is sharp and crisp and the narrative is compact with an ending that you don’t see coming. The scenes of animal cruelty and sexual abuse were difficult to read. I rolled my eyes a couple of times at the very 'obvious' hints and did pat myself on the back, proud of the fact that I’d figured it all out, only to be proved wrong time and time again. Just when you say “AHA”, another twist leaves you flummoxed (and by then you’ve munched through a few fistfuls of M&Ms -the peanut ones!). The ending is a shocker (a bit hard to believe, but best to not overthink it!) and hard to predict, which makes reading this book well worth the time invested. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and finished it in a day. This is my second Alice Feeney novel having read Rock Paper Scissors which I also loved and needless to say, I look forward to reading read more of her work in the future.

“Time is a trapdoor we all tumble down at some point in our lives, often completely unaware of how far we have fallen. Captivated by an audience of our own worst fears, that demand an encore whenever we dare to stop feeling afraid. The emotional walls we build are there to keep the real us inside, as well as to keep others out. I’m making mine stronger, one brick of revenge at a time. We all hide behind the version of ourselves we let the rest of the world see.”