The Ex by S.E. Lynes
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 26th August 2022
Published: 26th August 2022
★★★ 3.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
The love of your life… or a deadly mistake?
It’s hard, meeting your ex after so much time apart. You remember the tears and accusations, the desperate look on his face as he punched the wall, but you try not to show it. You smile politely, even while your heart beats faster.
You watch as he looks down into the stroller, at the beautiful blond-haired blue-eyed baby kicking his little legs in the sunshine, whose innocent smile lights up your world.
You see his face change. You know what he’s thinking.
The next day he calls. His voice is shaking. He wants the truth. Is it his child?
You hesitate, your throat dry, good and bad memories swirling in your mind. You’ve missed him so much… but can you ever trust him again?
You decide that the most important thing is doing what’s right for baby Tom. But months later, when the sirens wail in the night, you have to admit: you never thought either of you would go this far…
A brilliantly twisty psychological thriller from no.1 bestselling author S.E. Lynes about a relationship full of secrets and lies. Fans of Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell and Gillian Flynn will be gripped by The Ex.
MY THOUGHTS:
The love of your life? Or your worst nightmare?
I began this review earlier today (having given up after 40%) with one train of thought only to go back and finish the book and thus change my opinion. As the pace was so slow it was glacial as was the chill I felt whenever I was in sneaky Naomi's presence, it did pick up...but not until about 50%. Normally, I wouldn't go back and finish a book I had just reviewed as unable to get through but I know Susie is capable of some thrilling tales and I kind of wanted to find out what actually happened.
Sam is a sucker for a sob story and when he runs into his ex, Naomi, one day after leaving her the year before prior to the UK's first COVID lockdown he is shocked to see she has a baby in tow. But never fear, she is just looking after the little tyke for her friend. At least that's what she tells Sam but he's not stupid. He sees the resemblance, the fair hair, the blue eyes...he knows. He goes home to his gran Joyce with whom he's been living since he walked out on Naomi (for good reason, I might add) and regales her with the impromptu meeting. Joyce warns him to be careful where that girl is concerned but Sam just has to know - is Tommy his baby?
And so he texts Naomi to meet up, casual like. But she is not stupid either. She knows that's exactly what he'll do and so she sets about playing him like a fiddle. At first she denies Tommy is his but then about faces and admits that he is. They then agree to daytime access once a week, when he has to rework his work schedule to accommodate the princess as she calls the shots. Whilst she has agreed to access amicably, she could also quite easily take it away again, using Tommy as leverage in her quest to snag Sam's affections once again. Meanwhile poor Sam is decorating a nursery in his gran's house especially for Tommy when he is (finally) allowed to stay over. He has taken to fatherhood like a fish to water and he is loving every minute of it...for all the 8 hours Naomi deems to allow him at first.
Sam is convinced that Naomi is a changed woman. That motherhood has mellowed her. Even Joyce's opinion of her grandson's "ex-ex" was turned around. But is that the face she just wants him to see? He forgets the pain she caused him and the reasons why he left. She still articulates his every fault and how he made her angry, excusing her appalling outbursts and behaviour, when he could only respond with silence. He never knew what to say to her. I get that. But she took it as a personal attack and a year later never fails to remind him of that in her oh so subtle way. And Sam, still under her spell, bows to her in agreement seeing the error of his ways. Seriously? The woman blows hot and cold and poor Sam never knows which temperature he's going to get. Her underhand and subtle gaslighting manipulates him into constantly second guessing himself. She did that! And a year later, she still is! But this time with a smile not sarcasm in her tone. But it's still there.
But Sam is smitten. Case closed. With his gran's ring she gifted him to give Naomi, Sam gets down on bended knee and proposes. He wants to be a family and he wants that with Naomi and Tommy. And so they begin to plan their future together. Now that he had found and rekindled the love of his life, what could possibly go wrong?
The story unfolds through the narrative of Miranda who retells it as Sam's story with letters from Naomi (to Sam) peppered throughout. It is through these letters that I can see the subtle gaslighting, the manipulation and the emotional abuse. She knows exactly what she is doing and she dangles the silent threat in the form of words that she may or may not give to him.
When I began this review earlier, I didn't think the story had gone anywhere. That it was just more of Sam jumping through Naomi's hoops. But I wanted to know what Sam had done and why and I do enjoy Susie's thrillers so I went back and (admittedly) skipped a few chapters to where it started to get interesting and pick up pace. From there I was hooked. And I flew through the rest of the pages until the final truth was revealed. And wow! Just wow!
One thing was for sure...I HATED Naomi. With a passion. She was up to something...I just know she was. Was she stringing Sam along for her own gain before revealing her true colours again? Maybe? Maybe she truly loved him. But one thing is for sure...she is toxic. Their relationship is toxic. And yet she still had the power to lure him into her web once again and keep him entangled there. Because he is a good guy. He sees and believes the best in people.
While slow burns are not my style, preferring to be thrust into the deep end from the beginning and being catapulted through the rest of it, THE EX did in fact pick up its pace ten-fold at the halfway mark. In my opinion, that is too long to keep readers waiting for the good stuff...unless they like that style. Susie does have a penchant for slow burns but this was pretty glacial to begin with for quite some time.
The style in which THE EX is written is very different which I admit to finding confusing at first but once I got used to it I could follow the format. It was the slow pace that had me stumped. And while that was ALMOST enough to make me give up, I'm glad I did go back and pick it up again because it did indeed get better. It is predictable but that doesn't spoil the enjoyment for me...the slow pace in the first half did that. But in the second half, it ended up being an intriguing and enjoyable read.
I would like to thank #SELynes, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheEx in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
After graduating from Leeds University, Susie Lynes lived in London before moving to Aberdeen to be with her husband. In Aberdeen, she worked as a Radio Producer at the BBC before moving with her husband and two young children to Rome, where she lived for five years (that sounds amazing). There, she began to write while her children attended nursery. After the birth of her third child and upon her return to the UK, she gained an MA in Creative Writing from Kingston University. She combines writing with teaching at Richmond Adult Community College and bringing up her three children in Teddington, Middlesex. She is the author of critically acclaimed psychological thriller, VALENTINA, published by Blackbird books. MOTHER, her follow up, was published by Bookouture in November 2017 then THE PACT, THE PROPOSAL, THE WOMEN, THE LIES WE HIDE, CAN YOU SEE HER?, HER SISTER'S SECRET, THE HOUSEWARMING, THE BABY SHOWER and THE EX.
Formerly a BBC producer, she turned to novel writing after the birth of her third child.
After her MA in Creative Writing, she became a Creative Writing Tutor at Richmond Adult Community College and now combines writing, mentoring and lecturing. She has also published three children's books in Italy.
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