Invisible Girl By Lisa Jewell

‘Invisible Girl’ is the latest book by Lisa Jewell.

When Saffyre Maddox was ten, something terrible happened, and she’s carried the pain of it ever since. The man who she thought was going to heal her didn’t, and now she hides, learning his secrets, invisible in the shadows. Owen Pick is invisible too. He’s never had a girlfriend; he’s never even had a friend. Nobody sees him. Nobody cares. But when Saffyre goes missing from opposite his house on Valentine’s night, suddenly the whole world is looking at Owen. Accusing him, holding him responsible for Saffyre’s disappearance.

Yesterday was the publication day for ‘Invisible Girl’ and the previous day, I was fortunate to spend my day reading the latest book from Lisa Jewell.

The story is seen from the narrative of 3 characters, Saffyre, Cate and Owen and starts at the point on Valentines’ Day, when teenager Saffyre Maddox goes missing. Written through the different narratives and the different time periods really set the tone and scene for the story.

A troubled teen Saffyre Maddox develops a bit of an obsession with her counsellor Roan, who finds herself following his every move. He never sees her, hence Saffrye being the ‘Invisible Girl’. Roan is Cate’s husband and Cate is worried about the new area that they are renting in as there has been a spate of sexual attacks whilst teacher Owen finds himself being accused of sexual misconduct on the teenagers at he teaches at. He’s a reclusive 33 year old who spends his day on forums and doesn’t engage in the real world and he’s become the main suspect in Saffyre’s disappearance.

The 3 characters are a mix of personalities and all live within the close proximity of each other setting the tone of this claustrophobic thriller. At the core of the book of is the missing girl but weaved throughout the story is the troubling reality that everyone has a secret to hide and even the most highly respected individuals have secrets to hide.

Lisa has created a story that concentrates on predatory characters, toxic masculinity as well as self harm and sexual abuse that does make for unsettling reading. She also includes a world that naive people like myself never knew existed such as Incel forums, where bitter men would rip women to pieces and declare sick fantasies.

The story is an emotive one and I found myself veering from anger at the men’s attitudes and sympathy towards Saffrye as she tried to finds herself and recover from an ordeal that happened to her child that has moulded her into the person that she become. A person, who prefers to hide away from the world and the only time she’s at her happiest is when she’s with nature.

Lisa is currently number one on the New York bestsellers list for her previous book called ‘Then She Was Gone’ and ‘Invisible Girl’ will soon be behind it. A thrilling and emotional book about society and identify that made for gripping reading, filled with unlikable and unreliable characters and a strong storyline that comes seamlessly at the end page, ‘Invisible Girl’ is truly Lisa at her very best, compulsive and dark reading, that will even more make people reconsider walking alone at night time!

You can buy ‘Invisible Girl’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.