"Everyone is hiding a secret. One of them is murder." These are the words emblazoned on the front cover of The Book Club by C. J. Cooper, all in an attempt to entice potential readers. Instantly this gives promise of an intriguing mystery, uncovering what the members of this unfortunate book club are hiding from one another.
Set in a small Cotswold village, the story centres around Lucy, a young woman who has moved from London following an affair with her boss. Having made new friends, and settled into village life, things look to be getting better for Lucy. That is until the arrival of the villages latest resident, Alice, and the formation of the titular "book club." What follows is a series of events that sees the group's secrets come to the surface, with Alice's need for revenge turning them all against one another.
On the surface this book had the potential to be a gripping psychological thriller. Unfortunately it was anything but this. Focusing more on the psychological and less on the thrills, the author makes little to no attempt at hiding who our potential killer is. The only real mystery in this supposed thriller is Alice's motives, and why she is adamant to destroy Lucy's life, along with the friendships she's built since moving to this quiet village.
There are, however, some redeeming factors within this tale. One example is the writing, with the story for the most part being well structured, with good grammar. The overall character development also proves to be a strong point throughout, with the different personalities of our main characters adding some level of depth to the story. The way these personalities bounce off one another also entices, having a somewhat soap opera feel at times.
Alice in particular proves to be an intriguing, albeit flawed character. Being besotted with ruining Lucy and everyone around her's lifes, the character's odd and extremely weird personality is surprisingly quite infatuating. The way she plots, calculating every move with the utmost precision is eerie to say the least, with the character seeming to have an answer for any situation. Where all this crumbles is in the motives behind Alice's actions, with the revelation regarding her intentions being rather ludicrous and far fetched.
Where the book struggles most, however, is in its plot. On the whole the premise seemed quite intriguing, and did have potential, but where it falters is in its layout and overall progression. At times it feels as if the author doesn't know exactly where to take this story, with it jumping between the past and present on a whim and with very little context. The author also awkwardly switches between character perspectives, with it sometimes taking several paragraphs to realise exactly who the narrative is focusing on at a specific point.
Another detracting factor of this narrative is the intellectual capacity of our characters, with Lucy in particular being rather dimwitted at times. Given the lengths in which our characters have went to keep their personal secrets safe, it is hard to grasp the simplicity in which Alice's schemes go over their heads. This is all the more relevant as we approach the story's conclusion, with Lucy's actions almost certain to end in fatality.
Verdict
The Book Club is a psychological thriller that boasts tons of potential, yet fails to deliver any real thrills. Having a convoluted plot and questionable twists, C.J. Cooper gives us a revenge story that more often than not doesn't seem to know where it wants to go. This coupled with some extremely unintelligent character traits and poor trasitions makes any redeeming factors within this narrative very easy to overlook.
3.5/10
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