The Girl Downstairs by Iain Maitland
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 14th December 2021
Published: 21st November 2021
★ 1 star
DESCRIPTION:
Rosie is homeless and winter is closing in. So she can’t believe her luck when a total stranger, Mr. Adams, invites her to stay.
But Mr. Adams has a secret. He has chosen Rosie because she reminds him of someone very special from long ago. Maybe she can even help him recapture that distant happiness.
Of course, she might need a little encouragement, but that’s fine…
What he doesn’t realise is that Rosie has a secret too, a secret that will have horrifying consequences for them both.
So instead of the heaven he had hoped to find, Mr. Adams finds himself fighting to escape the special kind of hell created by… the girl downstairs.
The Girl Downstairs – the stunning psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Mark Edwards, K. L. Slater, Miranda Rijks.
MY REVIEW:
I was immediately drawn to the premise for this book which sounded creepy but intriguing. Well...creepy it sure was but intriguing it wasn't. I found it to be terribly slow paced, boring and incredibly frustrating. Most of the story was focused mainly on the primary character's incessant creepy thoughts and eccentric behaviour. It was actually a little uncomfortable and not my cup of tea at all. I have no idea when or where it picked up pace...if at all...because I just gave up before it got any worse. If an author cannot engage a reader in the first 10% of the book or even dangle the promise of something to come then I'm not going to waste my time by hanging around for something that may never happen. And judging by many other reviewers, I was not alone.
The story centres around Philip (Mr Adams), a middle-aged widower who lost his wife and daughter some years ago and is now transfixed by a homeless girl called Rosie. He sees her by the pier one afternoon and and she smiles at him after he hands her a five pound note. Ever since then he obsesses about finding her to the point he searches the very place he last saw her, the amusement arcade as well as the space beneath the pier where she would most likely go to sleep. When at last he does find her, he invites her to stay at his cottage where she will be fed and clothed...and safe from the elements and any undesireables. But is she safe really?
A lonely widower and a young homeless girl...what could possibly go wrong?
I think everything went wrong. Beginning with the slow pace to the internal monologue which was decidedly creepy and uncomfortable. Not to mention choppy and convoluted. Is this guy for real? Where were his thoughts going and what could he possibly hope to achieve by inviting a relative stranger into his home? He, a middle-aged man and she, a young vulnerable girl. Does that not spell creepy to you?
And his thoughts! OMG... Seriously, that is about all that happens in this book. A guy thinking creepy thoughts=. It wouldn't be so bad if something actually happens between those creepy thought...but nothing, absolutely nothing, does. And while the reader ponders about what crimes, if any, Philip has committed, the sluggish pace and disturbingly creepy thoughts that flood every second line of every single page left me with no interest whatsoever in learning the truth about this decidedly creepy guy. I slammed my kindle shut and thought "who cares?"
Seriously, a man could get arrested for the type of thoughts he was expressing, if not just inviting a young girl into his home was not creepy enough. Philip may be lonely but he is basically a stalker and a creepy one at that. I can't express that enough.
THE GIRL DOWNSTAIRS may be a thrilling read for some, but it was definitely not for me.
I would like to thank #IainMaitland, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #TheGirlDownstairs in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Iain is also the author of two memoirs, Dear Michael, Love Dad (Hodder, 2016), a book of letters written to his eldest son who experienced depression and anorexia, and (co-authored with Michael) Out Of The Madhouse (Jessica Kingsley, 2018).
He is also an Ambassador for Stem4, the teenage mental health charity. He talks regularly about mental health issues in schools and colleges and workplaces.
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