Behind Her Eyes (Pinborough)

Behind Her Eyes 
Sarah Pinborough, 2017
Flatiron Books
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250111173


Summary
Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and sparks fly. Though he leaves after they kiss, she’s thrilled she finally connected with someone.

When Louise arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man from the bar…who says the kiss was a terrible mistake, but who still can’t keep his eyes off Louise.

And then Louise bumps into Adele, who’s new to town and in need of a friend. But she also just happens to be married to David. And if you think you know where this story is going, think again, because Behind Her Eyes is like no other book you’ve read before.

David and Adele look like the picture-perfect husband and wife. But then why is David so controlling? And why is Adele so scared of him?

As Louise is drawn into David and Adele’s orbit, she uncovers more puzzling questions than answers. The only thing that is crystal clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong. But Louise can’t guess how wrong—and how far a person might go to protect their marriage’s secrets.

In Behind Her Eyes, Sarah Pinborough has written a novel that takes the modern day love triangle and not only turns it on its head, but completely reinvents it in a way that will leave readers reeling. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• AKA—Sarah Silverwood
• Birth—1972
• Where—Buckinghamshire, England, UK
• Education—West London Institute
• Awards—British Fantasy Award
• Currently—lives in London, England


Sarah Pinborough is a British novelist of "grip-lit." She is know for her Young Adult fiction (occasionally using the pseudonym, Sarah Silverwood). Her recent adult offering, Behind Her Eyes, was released in 2017 with considerable fanfare in the UK and the US. 

Background
Pinborough was born in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Her father was a diplomat, and the family lived in Syria until she was eight, when she was sent to board at Bedford High School. She describes herself as "the naughtiest girl in the school" and was thrown out at 16, after which she went to Edinburgh Academy for Boys. She attended the West London Institute (now Brunel), where she studied history and English.

In her early twenties she managed a strip club in Soho and later became head of English at Lea Manor High School in Luton.

Writing
Pinborough has been a full-time writer since 2008, publishing more than 20 novels and several novellas; she has also written for the BBC. Her recent novels include the dystopian love story, The Death House (2015), and a YA horror story, 13 Minutes (2016), which as of this writing is in production with Michael "Fifty Shades" De Luca for Netflix. (Adapted from the Evening Standard and the author's website.)

Book Reviews
You won’t see it coming, the finale of Behind Her Eyes. Sarah Pinborough’s new thriller—this season’s big-buzz book—is a taut, creepy love triangle, on ground so slippery you find yourself careening from character to character never sure who to trust. And the twist at the end? It’s a zinger.  READ MORE.
Molly Lundquist - LitLovers


By injecting a spritz of supernatural fizz into Behind Her Eyes, Pinborough shrewdly transforms a romantic suspense novel into an eerie thriller calculated to creep you out.… Pinborough keeps us guessing about just who’s manipulating whom—until the ending reveals that we’ve been wholly complicit in this terrifying mind game.
Marilyn Stasio - New York Times Book Review


The second twist turns the creepy factor up to 11 and is a total wrong-footer. #WTF ending indeed— the sort that makes you go back to the beginning to check if it all pans out. And it does.
Guardian (UK)


[A] twisty psychological thriller.… Pinborough will keep even veteran genre readers guessing about which members of the trio, if any, are providing trustworthy accounts of their pasts and presents.
Publishers Weekly


Deserves its own warning label.… Avoid any contact with the growing buzz concerning the novel’s ingenious, to-die-for twist.
BookPage


(Starred review.) A masterpiece of suspense…and dread that is highly satisfying. But it is with the plot, so tight and yet also intricate, that Pinborough shines…as the story moves to the disturbing conclusion that everyone is talking about.… Readers will likely never see it coming
Booklist


One of them is hiding a secret, revealed near the end of the book, which will leave you (and another of the characters) gasping.… [Y]our patience and indulgence will be rewarded in spades.
BookReporter

Discussion Questions
(We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher. In the meantime, use our generic mystery questions.)

GENERIC DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Mystery / Crime / Suspense Thrillers

1. Talk about the characters, both good and bad. Describe their personalities and motivations. Are they fully developed and emotionally complex? Or are they flat, one-dimensional heroes and villains?

2. What do you know...and when do you know it? At what point in the book do you begin to piece together what happened?

3. Good crime writers embed hidden clues in plain sight, slipping them in casually, almost in passing. Did you pick them out, or were you...clueless? Once you've finished the book, go back to locate the clues hidden in plain sight. How skillful was the author in burying them?

4. Good crime writers also tease us with red-herrings—false clues—to purposely lead readers astray? Does your author try to throw you off track? If so, were you tripped up?

5. Talk about the twists & turns—those surprising plot developments that throw everything you think you've figured out into disarray.

1. Do they enhance the story, add complexity, and build suspense?
2. Are they plausible or implausible?
3. Do they feel forced and gratuitous—inserted merely to extend the story?

6. Does the author ratchet up the suspense? Did you find yourself anxious—quickly turning pages to learn what happened? A what point does the suspense start to build? Where does it climax...then perhaps start rising again?

7. A good ending is essential in any mystery or crime thriller: it should ease up on tension, answer questions, and tidy up loose ends. Does the ending accomplish those goals?

1. Is the conclusion probable or believable?
2. Is it organic, growing out of clues previously laid out by the author (see Question 3)?
3. Or does the ending come out of the blue, feeling forced or tacked-on?
4. Perhaps it's too predictable.
5. Can you envision a different or better ending?

8. Are there certain passages in the book—ideas, descriptions, or dialogue—that you found interesting or revealing...or that somehow struck you? What lines, if any, made you stop and think?

9. Overall, does the book satisfy? Does it live up to the standards of a good crime story or suspense thriller? Why or why not?

(Generic Mystery Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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