Connectivity: Invisible Girl By Lisa Jewell

How well do we really know our neighbours, no matter how close they live? Or our friends, or even our family, especially when those people know how to project a perfectly acceptable image of themselves, whether or not it is true? How easy is it for suspicion to poison the mind and, warranted or not, a relationship?

How easy is it for someone who lives on the edge of society, not fully conforming to the prescribed norms (whoever decides those norms) to fall under suspicion and to be pilloried, especially by the press and social media, even if he or she lives a perfectly innocent existence simply minding their own business? There have been high profile cases of lives ruined by wrongful conviction, of innocent people hounded because of incorrect suspicions and allegations presented as fact. And when it’s you, how do you combat evidence presented as ‘truth’ when you know you’re innocent of all charges? It must feel like some parallel universe and then, of course, self doubt worms its way into the psyche and the mind games begin. Did I? Could I?

This psychological thriller is more than just engaging, it’s mesmerising. Saffyre Maddox is 17 and troubled, with a tragic history, regularly punctuated with the deaths of her nearest and dearest. She was referred to a therapist when she was self-harming but even when he thinks his job is done, she knows she has kept her worst secret from him. It is that secret which has affected her most and she has not dealt with it; she is not ‘cured’ and feels abandoned, despite the love and care of the uncle with whom she lives.

Luckily, I didn’t want to put it down and read it in 3 sessions!

Roan Fours is a child psychologist, married with two teenage children. The spark in his marriage was extinguished when his wife, suspecting his infidelity, had something of a breakdown. They are trying to mend things but the sticking plaster keeps peeling away. Josh and Georgie, their offspring, are not as blind as Roan and Cate think.

Owen Pick is their neighbour, a teacher, somewhat awkward around women. He is in his 30s, unmarried and lonely, living in his aunt’s house across the road from the Fours. The relationships he has with people at work are not harmonious especially when complaints are made against him by students and he is ‘suspended pending investigation’. He has no friends, his aunt doesn’t like him and his father wants little to do with him. His naivety makes him vulnerable, an easy target for those with a cruel sense of humour – and worse.

When Saffyre goes missing, Owen is arrested on suspicion of abduction and as there have been several sexual assaults which have taken place locally, too, the police believe they have got their man. Media photos don’t help; he ‘Totally looks the type’ and he is hard pressed to prove his innocence. If indeed he is innocent of all charges. Rohypnol hidden in his drawer doesn’t help his case – another story but one which becomes a contributing factor.

Fear is debilitating; so too is suspicion.

The time-frame jumps randomly, keeping the reader on their toes, and despite the welcome short chapters, it’s better to read this in chunks. Nibbling your way through it, 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there, might make it harder to retain the detail which all interconnects, eventually! Luckily, I didn’t want to put it down and read it in 3 sessions!

There is a sense of the characters watching each other, warily prowling round, and the reader is privy to it all, observing the actions and interactions play out. You do not get to know the players intimately, most don’t know themselves and, with their inability to really communicate, they keep their distance, but that simply increases the tension.

Slowly, the curtain of suspicion is drawn back and in this case, the suspect is released with no explanation and no apology; new evidence points to a different suspect - rightly or wrongly.

The truth is important to us all: facing the truth, knowing the truth, owning the truth and doing something about it. Fear is debilitating; so too is suspicion. I’d like to say all’s well that ends well and for some it may, but justice is not always seen to be done and sometimes the shadows slip away.


Invisible Girl is published by Arrow Books