Eye of the Beholder

May 20, 2024
Paranoia plagues a sequestered ghostwriter in Bamford’s atmospheric ode to Hitchcock’s Vertigo (after Deep Water). Maddy Wight initially balks when renowned cosmetic surgeon Angela Reynolds gives her just one month to draft and edit her memoir. The project pays a fortune, however, and Reynolds’s endorsement would be invaluable to Maddy’s career, so she resolves to make it happen. Reynolds flies Maddy to her remote Scottish compound, ostensibly to make their collaboration easier; upon arriving, however, Maddy learns the surgeon will be traveling for much of the month. The house is lonely, with spotty cell service, so Maddy welcomes the unexpected appearance of a second houseguest—Reynolds’s business partner, Scott. Attraction quickly sparks between the two, but Scott’s blackouts and violent mood swings unnerve Maddy, and she can’t shake the sense that he and Reynolds are hiding something. Suspicion and fear color Maddy’s propulsive first-person narration, heightening the tension, while a cavalcade of twists and cliffhangers distract from the less plausible aspects of Bamford’s plot. Ruth Ware fans will eat this up. Agent: Camilla Bolton, Darley Anderson Agency.