Behind Her Lives: Now You See Her, Now You Don't (Pseudo)

Product Information

This was my first book by Briana Cole but definitely not the last I’m so glad I requested this audiobook and was able to read it. Because what’s behind hereyes, in this instance, is him. She is beautiful, wealthy Scottish heiress Adele, played by The Luminaries’ Eve Hewson. He is working class, Glaswegian heroin addict Rob, played by Game of Thrones’ Robert Aramayo. They meet as teenagers at rehab after the death of Adele’s parents, and realise that they share the ability for their souls to leave their bodies while they sleep and ‘travel’ to other places to spy on other people’s lives. ‘I love this place, I’d stay forever if I could’

Lust, jealousy, betrayal, and desperation to survive drive this dramatic tale that will appeal to fans of contemporary multicultural romance authors De’Nesha Diamond, Victoria Christopher Murray, and Shelly Ellis.”

Simona Brown – Louise Barnsley

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review Behind Her Lives. The more she digs, the more she realizes she maybe didn’t know her sister as well as she thought. In fact, her entire childhood and family weren’t quite what she thought they were.

Even though it was a psychological thriller, it was also an exploration of grief and familial bonds— what would we do to protect our family and how much can we forgive?So just a note of caution that this book might not be indicative of her entire body of work but I can’t confirm that personally. The main thing that took this book down a notch was the swearing. I could have done without that. However, a couple of the characters are sketchy criminals so their way of talking, I suppose, requires it. But even the main character, Deven, swore a lot too. Describing the show to Heart.co.uk ahead of its release, Eve Hewson - who plays Adele - said: "The show is a psychological thriller, and it's a love triangle about a single mother named Louise who starts an affair with her boss while simultaneously sparking up a friendship with his wife." Secrets, suspense, and a missing sister—who may not want to be found—are at the center of Brianna Cole’s latest enthralling multicultural drama. Will appeal to fans of psychological suspense, gritty drama, and readers of De’Nesha Diamond, Kiki Swinson, Saundra, Wahida Clark, Ashley & JaQuavis, Victoria Christopher Murray, and Shelly Ellis. This is where things get interesting. She starts to learn about a whole other life that her sister lead, and none of it is good. It was an addictive read and I felt for Devan. Life was not being kind to her and things just kept getting worse.

Opening the door to the police before 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning can never lead to anything good, a truism confirmed to Deven Reyonlds when she’s told that her younger sister, Kennedy, is dead by suicide and she’s needed to identify the body. But when shown a picture of the women found in Kennedy’s apartment, Deven is relieved to announce that the person is not her sister. The ME, the police, even her sometimes-boyfriend Justin think she is in the denial stage of grief, but Deven knows she’s right. That doesn’t explain though why the woman was found in Kennedy’s apartment or why Deven can’t locate Kennedy. Though I thought it strange that Deven’s character admitted that she intentionally didn’t date outside her race, I did appreciate that the author didn’t try to do too much with the love story part of the book. That was not central to the plot and considering all the things Deven was dealing with, I think it’s more realistic to plot the relationship the way Cole did. There is profanity. I did notice it was minimal and appeared culturally correct (given my studies and readings).It’s a malevolent ending made all the more cruel by the existence of Louise’s seven-year-old son Adam, who knows instantly that there’s something very different about his mother after Rob takes over her body. The story ends with two women murdered, a man deceived for years about who he’s married to and having sex with, and a child’s mother replaced by the person who killed her – all so that one person can greedily live a life they coveted. Because Deven’s grief about her sister and a previous loss color her reactions, she is a believable but unreliable character. At times, I wanted to redirect her from her poor decisions, but I admired her loyalty. She was further tested because her father had passed not too long before and her mother, in assisted living, was beginning to have fewer and fewer good days due to dementia.

Thanks to Tantor Audio, the author and NetGalley for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*From bestselling author Briana Cole, an enthrallingly suspenseful new story of secrets, sibling rivalry, and a woman searching for a missing sister who may not want to be found. For fans of multicultural psychological thrillers and edgy dramas by Shanora Williams, Kiki Swinson, Saundra, Wahida Clark, Ashley & JaQuavis, Victoria Christopher Murray, and Shelly Ellis.