Book Review: Dead to Her
15.07.2020
Book Review | Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough
If you’re a regular reader of my book reviews you’ll know that whenever I’m struggling to settle into a read I tend to turn to a thriller. There’s no secret as to why this is the case. I do need them to be well written and populated by interesting characters, but more than anything else it’s an urge for a strong narrative. I like someone to take me on a journey and be confident that I can give myself over to the unknown elements in the certainty that a surprising and solid ending will reveal all.
My first Sarah Pinborough novel Behind Her Eyes remains one of my favourite thrillers. I've recommended it to many people and received an extremely split response so I think that her blend of realism and the supernatural isn't for everyone. Personally though it's a welcome change from samey thrillers where I so often lose interest in or guess the ending so far in advance of finishing the book. The second of her novels that I read, Cross Her Heart, wasn't quite so intriguing to me and was weirdly similar to another book that come out at around the same time, so I was simultaneously excited and cautious about Dead To Her.
In short it came somewhere in-between for me. More than anything else it was compulsively readable. At the moment I have loads to read and plenty of reading time but I'm finding it more difficult than usual to get into and stick with a book that doesn't immediately grab me. This one did that with ease and I was happily drawn into the high society, money-centric, deep South world that these characters inhabit. Like in Behind Her Eyes, love and sex are woven into the plot and, quite quickly, I was just as invested in their personal relationships as I was in the ever-evolving tale of magic and murder. The suspects and motives spiralled out quite quickly and I never felt like I second-guessed where Pinborough was going which, again, is my favourite thing about her writing. There was a strong focus on voodoo and race within the novel which was essential to the plot. While I found that interesting, particularly the discussions about an older white man (William Radford) bringing home a young, Black second wife (Keisha) and how Keisha's acceptance into their society would have differed a generation ago, while still not being ideal today.
I've recently become more aware of how aspects of a novel can be read differently by readers of differing ethnicities and backgrounds. I would be interested to know whether the reading experience was similar for a Black reader. The dichotomy between Keisha's new role in their society and the undercurrent of racism was intriguing, and I'm keen to know whether it felt well drawn to a non-white reader or whether it was too superficial.
Additionally, I don't know anything about voodoo and some of the information, particularly the fact that it spanned two countries and a lifetime, felt overwhelming and almost distracting. I had to put aside any questions or concerns I had about how realistic it was in order to allow myself to be fully immersed in the book. It wasn't my favourite aspect of the story for this reason, something about it jarred with me, but having now finished reading I'll likely research the topic of voodoo further.
Much of this is a reflection a day after reading the book and I’m trying to break down all the different thoughts I have about it. I think though that it’s important to note that while reading it, my main sensation was one of enjoyment. Pinborough’s storytelling is always, for me, extremely readable and I found myself consistently desperate to get back to the book when I was doing anything else. For a good, solid thriller I still think you can’t go far wrong with a Sarah Pinborough!