A Character-Driven Psychological Thriller

 

Author:  Renee Knight
Publisher:  Harper (February 12, 2019)

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Hardcover: 304 pages

 

Description

From the publisher:

Renée Knight follows up her international sensation Disclaimer with this shivery tale of psychological suspense, featuring a character as disturbing and compelling as Mrs. Danvers in Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca.

From her first day as Personal Assistant to the celebrated Mina Appleton, Christine Butcher understands what is expected of her. Absolute loyalty. Absolute discretion. For twenty years, Christine has been a most devoted servant, a silent witness to everything in Mina’s life. So quiet, you would hardly know she is there.

Day after day, year after year, Christine has been there, invisible—watching, listening, absorbing all the secrets floating around her. Keeping them safe.

Christine is trusted. But those years of loyalty and discretion come with a high price. And eventually Christine will pay.

Yet, it would be a mistake to underestimate such a steadfast woman. Because as everyone is about to discover, there’s a dangerous line between obedience and obsession.

British author Knight follows 2015’s Disclaimer, her well-received debut, with a decidedly creepy psychological thriller. Ambitious Mina Appleton, who becomes the head of a London-based supermarket chain upon her father’s retirement, is finally able to execute her aggressive plan to increase the family-owned business’s market share. For this, she needs more than a secretary. She wants someone who will make sure no detail falls through the cracks, either at the office or at home. Perfectionist Christine Butcher fills the bill. Devoting herself to anticipating Mina’s every need, she personifies the secret in secretary. Whether it’s reciting meeting minutes and business phone numbers from memory, picking up dry cleaning, or baking cookies for Mina’s children, Christine does it all, invisibly, discreetly. Their mutual trust far exceeds the norm as long as Christine, who will remind many of Mrs. Danvers in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, remembers her below-stairs place. But, after 18 years of Mina’s demands costing Christine her husband, her child, and more, a bitter betrayal spirals into a chilling comeuppance. Readers are sure to be left breathless. Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM Partners. 

My Thoughts

In this case, I ended up listening to this book as I worked around the house. It didn’t bother me that it was a slow-moving build to a crescendo. However, I’m not sure what I would have thought had I  been reading it. 

There’s a fine line between being a conscientious and loyal employee and allowing yourself to become obsessed with job and employer. It’s not long before Christine Butcher finds herself to be more than a devoted secretary. She slowly becomes a player in her boss’s ruthless game. A game where principles don’t seem to play a very important part.

Christine’s Boss

Christine finds herself pleasing Mina, her boss, at the expense of her own family. In time her husband and young daughter have had enough and leave Christine. Though she is disappointed, it does tend to uncomplicate her life.

Mina’s business practices soon become the subject of a legal investigation over unethical practices. If you like courtroom scenes you will enjoy this part of the book. Mina’s testimony regarding Christine is quite interesting. It seems she talks out of both sides of her mouth. She makes Christine actions look innocently guilty, but in the same breath offers excuses and praise regarding her secretary. Christine’s loyalties are stretched to the limit as her lack of recent competency is discussed Mina offers only a condescending smile toward Christine.

But will this once meek, dutiful secretary ever reflect on her life and what she has sacrificed to meet her boss’s demands? If so, how will she react?

The latter part of the story will bring a faster pace and heart-racing tension.

If you’re after a thriller which builds slowly into a crescendo then I can certainly recommend this book. What an ending!

 

What Concerned Me

Unlike some psychological thrillers, this one moves at a steady, slow pace until toward the end.

 

What I Liked Best

Though this story is somewhat extreme, it does cause the reader to reflect on what is given up in life and why.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

Author Renee Knight

 

 

Renée Knight worked as a documentary-maker for the BBC before turning to writing. She is a graduate of the Faber Academy ‘Writing a Novel’ course, and lives in London with her husband and two children. Her widely acclaimed debut novel, Disclaimer, was a Sunday Times No.1 bestseller. The Secretary is her second novel.

~Let's Share Thoughts~