The Argument by Victoria Jenkins
Genre: Domestic thriller, psychological thriller
Read: 31st January 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 10th December 2019)
★★★★ 4 stars
After enjoying Victoria Jenkins' King and Lane series I was disappointed with her last book, "The Divorce", which was her first in the thriller genre. With THE ARGUMENT I was hoping for something a little more intriguing...and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. A book that is surrounded by a single argument sounded fascinating.
The story surrounds Hannah Walters, a stay at home mum, with two beautiful but equally different daughters - Olivia and Rosie. With a loving husband, Michael and a beautiful home, what more could Hannah want? How about a bit more respect and appreciation from her defiant and rebellious teenage daughter? Why couldn't she be more like Rosie, her golden child?
And so it starts with...well...an argument.
Fifteen year old Olivia Walters is told by her mum Hannah that she cannot go to a party. But being 15, does she listen? Of course not! She's 15! So she sneaks out of the house and attends the party anyway. Her mother is fraught with worry, suspecting that Olivia defied her and went anyway, so she waits up. When she does finally get home she's a little tipsy and she shouldn't be surprised to find her mother waiting up for her.
And so the argument begins...
...and it ends with the words every parent has heard from their teenager at some time or another. "I hate you! I am never going to speak to you again!"
But Olivia is determined. She doesn't speak for a day, two days...and soon it turns into a week. Hannah continues to engage with her daughter despite her silence until she decides that two can play that game. She even begins to enjoy the peace and quiet. Until...the nightmare begins...
Late one night, Hannah hears a crash from downstairs. Someone is in their house. But when she and Michael go to investigate, they find Olivia on the stairs. Michael orders her to her room as they continue downstairs. They find the back door windows smashed and a frightening message scrawled on the cupboard doors. Just one word. LIAR.
Did Olivia do this? Was she coming upstairs or going down? Hannah knows her daughter doesn't understand the lengths to which she goes to protect them, believing her mother to be a tyrant. But if she did do this, what exactly does Olivia know?
The nightmare doesn't end there. Keys going missing, phone calls from the school, a stranger on her doorstep. What does it all mean? Is Olivia trying to destroy them? Her own daughter? But then, Hannah holds a secret far greater than anyone knows. And she is sure that it is the reason behind Olivia's defiant and disturbing behaviour.
What starts as a family drama soon turns into something far more deadly. To say that this family is somewhat dysfunctional is an understatement. No one is who they appear to be and all of them are completely screwed up in so many ways. The parents, seemingly protective and loving, don't have any redeeming qualities to them. Michael is distant and never there. Hannah seems to be in a bubble of her own with a narrative that is sometimes as chaotic and confused as she is. Olivia got up my goat from the beginning, blaming everything and her whole life on the way her parents treat her. But then, what teenager doesn't? In her eyes, her behaviour was a reflection on their treatment of her. I found her to be self-entitled, selfish and a bit of a brat. Rosie, despite her age, seemed to be the most mature of them all...and far wiser than her 10 years.
Told from the alternating perspectives of Hannah and Olivia, as well as the odd diary entry, THE ARGUMENT is more than just an argument. It's more than just a family drama. It takes family drama to a whole new level. Only one of these narratives is truthful...and nothing is as it seems.
I normally don't like slow burns but this one was different. There was something about the narratives that just drew me in and I couldn't put it down. The suspense built slowly and the tension was palpable. 70% of the book was family drama so when the twist came and turned everything on its head, I wasn't expecting it! It seriously blew me away...and that doesn't happen often. While I was beginning to put the pieces together I never really expected them to fall into place...
A very different but well-crafted plot, THE ARGUMENT is a psychological thriller that pushes the boundaries. A seriously twisted domestic drama that shatters the illusion brilliantly.
An intriguing and twisted thriller where nothing is as it seems! I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would. Definitely recommend.
I would like to thank #VictoriaJenkins, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheArgument in exchange for an honest review.
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