Behind the Red Door
Fiction
Atria Books
August 4, 2020
Hardcover
320
Free from publisher
When Fern Douglas sees the news about Astrid Sullivan, a thirty-four-year-old missing woman from Maine, she is positive that she knows her. Fern’s husband is sure it’s because of Astrid’s famous kidnapping—and equally famous return—twenty years ago, but Fern has no memory of that, even though it happened an hour outside her New Hampshire hometown. And when Astrid appears in Fern’s recurring nightmare, one in which a girl reaches out to her, pleading, Fern fears that it’s not a dream at all, but a memory.
Back home in New Hampshire, Fern purchases a copy of Astrid’s recently published memoir—which may have provoked her original kidnapper to abduct her again—and as she reads through its chapters and visits the people and places within it, she discovers more evidence that she has an unsettling connection to the missing woman. As Fern’s search becomes increasingly desperate, she hopes to remember her past so she can save Astrid in the present…before it’s too late.
My review:
2.5 stars
What an interesting premise this story has! A woman kidnapped and released as a young girl, gets kidnapped again twenty years later when her memoir of her ordeal is published. Is it the same person trying to silence her? That's the obvious answer, and the main protagonist, who thinks she may have insight into the original crime, tries to piece things together. This is a fast read, and it flows well. There are excerpts interspersed from the kidnapped woman's memoir, which are used to move the story along as Astrid makes connections to how she relates to this girl. It also touches on subjects like emotional parental abuse, anxiety, religious indoctrination, and fertility, being among them. I did have some major issues with the book, even as I flew through it to reach the conclusion. I don't consider myself a super sleuth (I almost never figure these thrillers out), but I had this one figured out so early! I also thought Astrid's recall of events was rather sudden, given that we are told she has a therapist. And the one twist I didn't have figured out was disappointing, and gave me a whole different opinion of the characters. I can't give anymore away without ruining the plot, so I'm intentionally being vague 🙂
This was a fast paced thriller that I think would be perfect for readers who don't engage with a lot of this genre. Those who read lots of it may still like it, but certainly will have it figured out, which may or may not effect your enjoyment.
