Disclaimer: A Novel

By: Renée Knight

Narrated by: Michael Pennington, Laura Paton

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

A brilliantly conceived, deeply unsettling psychological thriller - already an international sensation - about a woman haunted by secrets, the consuming desire for revenge, and the terrible price we pay when we try to hide the truth.

Finding a mysterious novel at her bedside plunges documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft into a living nightmare. Though ostensibly fiction, The Perfect Stranger recreates in vivid, unmistakable detail the terrible day she became hostage to a dark secret, a secret that only one other person knew - and that person is dead.

Now that the past is catching up with her, Catherine's world is falling apart. Her only hope is to confront what really happened on that awful day - even if the shocking truth might destroy her.

©2015 Renee Knight (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Dilemma could have been solved in 30 seconds

I listened to this all the way through and enjoyed it, but it has real flaws. The pacing just does not match the mystery reveals, and diminishes them instead of heightening anticipation.For example, a long time is spent on one character's rambling hatred and search for the other and it just adds nothing. As the blurb states, the main character has a secret that someone else is writing about, and like any good secret, she wants to keep it hidden. But she inexplicably continues to do so, even when it is obviously against her best interests. The secret is key to the plot and the author keeps trying to justify her reticence, but it just doesn't make sense. No reasonable person would behave this way, and to me it made the entire book just seem dumb.

There are many good things about this book, but it needed a brutal editing to make the interesting characters, the small reveals, and the mystery itself into a thriller.

Surprisingly upsetting -- bizarre premise

What did you like best about Disclaimer: A Novel? What did you like least?

The first half or so of the novel felt suspenseful and kept me listening. The narratation was quite wonderful.

Would you ever listen to anything by Renée Knight again?

No, I will not. This book ended up being deeply upsetting in a way that makes me think I simply would not enjoy anything by this author. I am more than willing to engage with heavy or dark material, but there was a bleakness and hatefulness (not even that of individual characters, but of the narrative arc in general) in this book that I found distressing. It simply did not work for me.

What about Michael Pennington and Laura Paton ’s performance did you like?

The narrators did a fantastic job conveying a wide range of emotions.

Could you see Disclaimer: A Novel being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Sadly, I expect this book will be made into a film -- or at least a Lifetime movie.... It will be a bummer.

Any additional comments?

I don't want to give away any plot points, but the worldview of this author is quite dark. The range of viciousness, misunderstandings, and lack of empathy and compassion were hard for me to take. What connection there was felt like glopped on sentimental dreck.

Empty, pointless...

This book is like cotton candy, insubstantial, deceptively insubstantial, cloying...

It has an unbearably annoying protagonist who seems to relish her victimization as much as the author enjoys subjecting her to it.

She is purportedly a documentary filmmaker, yet never, not once, does she call on any of the skills or experiences that such an occupation would necessarily give her to examine or understand her situation.

When the "twist" comes it is so underwhelming and we are so tired of everyone in the book, that the only response of a shrug.

Entertaining

Great book on tape. Engrossing and beautifully and convincingly read. Compelling plot. I disagree with a reviewer who said characters were hard to relate to. I found Catherine to be very sympathetic.

Intense entangling discovery

Absolutely engaging story about discovering the whole truth. Fascinating study of how we often shape our lives on incomplete knowledge of facts about the people we love.

If you like girl on the train you'll like this one even more

Full of twists and surprises.
Well told and very entertaining.
I think it's better than girl on A train.

Depressing

Like listening to a train wreck, as these characters' lives implode under the weight of past secrets and present day dysfunction. *warning* there is a rape sequence that was pretty hard to listen to.

best book I've read in some time. I loved the twis

I love all the twist and turns. most enjoyable book I've read in some time

Awful plot

A quick conversation would have cleared up this "mystery" in 10 seconds. I couldn't even make it to the end.

Hitchcock worthy thriller!

Could not turn this off. Kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat. With every twist, the characters keep developing. I liked both readers and thought they did a great job of creating the mood and setting with their voices. If you liked Gone Girl, this is for you.