Invisible Girl

At a time that feels plagued by uncertainty, I’ve been taking great comfort in the things I can rely on: Alex Trebek’s dulcet tones every weeknight at 7pm; the explosion of memes welcoming the internet to PSL season; butter’s ability to make kale edible (don’t @ me); and the reliable satisfaction of a Lisa Jewell thriller.

Jewell’s latest follows the lives of three dissatisfied people: There’s Cate, a physiotherapist and mom of two who worries about the state of her marriage with therapist Roan. There’s Saffyre, a teenager with a traumatic past who feels slighted by the abrupt ending to her sessions with Roan. And there’s Owen, Cate and Roan’s 30-something neighbor whose loneliness leads him down a dark path on the internet. The book begins with Saffyre’s disappearance on Valentine’s night, and as this zigzag story unfolds, we learn the dark secrets that thread their lives together.

Jewell is a master at weaving a tale that’s unpredictable, deeply creepy, and that pushes the boundaries of what’s taboo. Invisible Girl is no exception. It’s unexpected and often uncomfortable, with villainous characters you’ll be glad to never meet. In a Halloween season that’s anything but ordinary, if you too are looking for a sure thing, look no further than the disturbingly brilliant mind of Lisa Jewell.

Owen Pick’s life is falling apart.

In his thirties, a virgin, and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a geography teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct, which he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel—involuntary celibate—forums, where he meets the charismatic, mysterious, and sinister Bryn.

Across the street from Owen lives the Fours family, headed by mom Cate, a physiotherapist, and dad Roan, a child psychologist. But the Fours family have a bad feeling about their neighbor Owen. He’s a bit creepy and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night.

Meanwhile, young Saffyre Maddox spent three years as a patient of Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned when their therapy ends, she searches for other ways to maintain her connection with him, following him in the shadows and learning more than she wanted to know about Roan and his family. Then, on Valentine’s night, Saffyre Maddox disappears—and the last person to see her alive is Owen Pick.