{"id":63880,"date":"2025-02-02T07:58:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T07:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/books\/review-the-wreckage-of-us-by-dan-malakin\/"},"modified":"2025-02-02T07:58:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-02T07:58:30","slug":"review-the-wreckage-of-us-by-dan-malakin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=63880","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: \u2018The Wreckage of Us\u2019 by Dan Malakin"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Astrid Webb is missing, but she\u2019s also sick and usually stays at home.<\/h2>\n

Bryan Webb arrives home from a cycle ride to find the police waiting outside his perfect countryside cottage to inform him that they\u2019ve found his wife\u2019s car, with blood inside, abandoned near the woods. Bryan immediately has questions: why had Astrid left the house? In fact, given her many health issues, how<\/em> had she left the house? DI Ronson has questions, too, including where Bryan has been and what his relationship with his wife is like, because we all know that it\u2019s usually the husband to blame when a wife goes missing\u2026<\/p>\n

What\u2019s it about?<\/h3>\n

A lot of unanswered questions! What has happened to Astrid? What has Bryan been up to? Why didn\u2019t the husband know his wife had a stalker \u2013 again? Can DI Ronson and DS Maxwell find the truth? Although there are definitely elements of a police procedural here, \u2018The Wreckage of Us\u2019 is fundamentally, as the title suggests, a psychological thriller that explores how the past has led to the present\u2026and what\u2019s really happened between this couple.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, we meet Celine, who\u2019s struggling with her life, including an older boyfriend, Seth, who doesn\u2019t seem to like her very much, and wonder who is emailing Astrid, so there\u2019s plenty of plot to intrigue us!<\/p>\n

What\u2019s it like?<\/h3>\n

Well crafted. From the shocking prologue to the satisfying epilogue, Malakin switches point of view and time frame frequently and effectively, gradually revealing more and more of the history of Bryan and Astrid\u2019s relationship. Most of the reveals felt mildly predictable to me, but that wasn\u2019t a problem: I really enjoyed the journey to get there, although \u2018enjoy\u2019 feels like an odd word to use with a story that could easily be plastered with trigger warnings!<\/p>\n

Final thoughts<\/h3>\n

This was an absorbing, gripping read which feels very zeitgeisty. I particularly enjoyed the way all the plot points came together at the end and I look forward to reading more by Dan Malakin.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Wreckage of Us\u2019,
Dan Malakin,
2024, VIPER, paperback<\/h6>\n

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