Georgina is at a point in her life where she can make changes toward a better life. Her son Cody is 7 now, so she has the chance to go back to school and follow her dream of being an art teacher, instead of working at a bookshop. And after a hiccup in her marriage, she and her husband Bren were getting things back on track. She lost her mother recently, suddenly, but she’s trying to move forward again, to be there for her family, for her dad, and for herself,
And then Cody had a lollipop.
They were at the park one afternoon, and Cody disappeared into a woody area with some friends. When the boys came back out, Cody—only Cody—had a lollipop. Georgie asked him where he got it, and he told her that he’d gotten it from a woman. She said she’d be his New Granny.
When Georgie told Bren, he shrugged it off and said that kids make up imaginary friends all the time. It’s just Cody’s way of dealing with his grief. It makes sense, but Georgie isn’t convinced. She gets even more suspicious when she catches him on the phone talking to New Granny and finds drawings of her. But Bren is still unconvinced that there is any real threat. And he knows that she’s had some issues in the past with seeing threats that weren’t really there. He encourages her to get therapy.
Georgina’s logical mind can understand where Bren is coming from. She knows her own history, and she knows that kids create imaginary friends to deal with their loneliness. But her gut tells her that this woman, New Granny, is a threat to her family. She feels that New Granny is a threat to her son. And she is willing to do anything she can to keep her son safe.
The Woman Outside My Door is a debut domestic thriller from a new voice. Author Rachel Ryan writes about Dublin, Ireland like she was born and raised there (she was), and she jumps into the thriller genre with a big splash.
I loved The Woman Outside My Door. I read almost all of it in one day, struggling to put it down. It’s written well, has strong characters and a wonderful sense of place, and is a very compelling story. And while there are plenty of red herrings planted throughout the story (and throughout the neighborhood), the resolution is both surprising and makes perfect sense in the context and wraps the story up beautifully. This is a great book, and I can’t wait to see where Rachel Ryan goes next.
Egalleys for The Woman Outside My Door were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.
