Thursday, September 21, 2017

Review of "Emma in the Night: A Novel" by Wendy Walker




Three years ago the Tanner sisters, fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma, vanished.



Emma's car, containing her purse and keys, was found at the beach - but all of Cass's personal belongings were still in the house. What could have happened?

FBI Agent Leo Strauss heads the investigation.....



.....assisted by forensic psychologist, Dr. Abby Winter.



Dr. Winter senses that's something's 'off' about the girls' family - especially the mother (Mrs. Martin).



The psychologist wants to look more closely at the parents, but is discouraged by Strauss - who has other ideas about the case. In any case, the girls aren't found.

Now, three years after her disappearance, Cass shows up at her family's front door - and Agent Strauss and Dr. Winter are back on the case with the full force of the FBI.



Cass tells a harrowing story. She says a married couple named Bill and Lucy held the girls prisoner on an island. Cass explains that a boatman named Rick periodically brought supplies - food, clothing, books, DVDs, and so on.....and that the island house had a satellite dish and television.



With long and careful planning Cass was able to escape, and is now desperate for the authorities to find Emma.

Cass goes on to say that Bill and Lucy treated the girls (more or less) like 'family': they all ate together, played board games, did chores, etc. Moreover the girls were homeschooled and not sexually abused. However, they were not allowed to leave! Luckily, Cass was eventually able to get away.

When questioned, Cass tells the FBI how she and Emma came to be on the island, describes the location/geography of the isle as best she can, details all aspects of life on the island, and works with a sketch artist to draw the suspects. The FBI goes full out to try to identify the perps, find the island, and rescue Emma.



The book is told from the alternating points of view of Cass and Dr. Winter. In Cass's chapters - which take the form of an 'internal monologue' - she talks about growing up in her family, the twisted interactions among family members, and how this affected herself and Emma.



In Dr. Winter's chapters, the psychologist (and Agent Strauss) go over Cass's story, and the doctor decides that some parts sound sketchy.



Dr. Winter also concludes that Cass's mom has narcissistic personality disorder, which means that - to maintain her feelings of superiority - Mrs. Martin is compelled to manipulate and control everyone around her. This makes for an extremely toxic family dynamic.

The story has an array of additional characters, including: Mr. Tanner - the girls' biological father; Witt - Mr. Tanner's son from a previous marriage; Mr. Martin - the girls stepfather; Hunter - Mr. Martin's son from a previous marriage; and Lisa - the school guidance counselor. All of them play an important part in the story. Let's just say, the book's conglomeration of attractive females and various males.....spells trouble.



The book held my attention and I was immersed in Cass's stories about what she and Emma experienced growing up, and what happened to them on the island. I was also intrigued by Mrs. Martin's mental illness, and dismayed to see how far she'd go to preserve her inflated - and precarious - self-esteem. In the story, Dr. Winter notes that girls who grow up with a narcissistic mother tend to repeat the destructive behavior, and I wondered if Cass and Emma were irretrievably damaged. There are some surprising elements in the book, and I liked these twists.

On the downside, I think that Cass is too knowledgeable, cunning, and sophisticated for a girl with her life experience - and I sometimes had a hard time suspending disbelief. The story's conclusion also struck me as a bit unlikely.

All in all I think the book is an okay psychological thriller. It's very cinematic (IMO) and could probably be adapted into a good movie. I'd recommend the book to fans of psychological dramas.

Rating: 3 stars

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