Hall is fantastically good at upending expectations and pulling the wool over her readers’ eyes... this exploration of female rage isn’t what you think it’s going to be.
A sleek takedown plot with a #NotAllMen foundation ... Compelling, unsettling, and nuanced, this will be a fast favorite for fans of dark domestic thrillers.
Her plot and themes don’t exactly break new ground, but Hall keeps things moving at a brisk clip, and the thought-provoking conclusion will prompt readers to ask difficult questions about bad male behavior.
The only thing that niggles is whether Cole deserves to have a say—the first and longest one, at that—in the novel. There’s something ironic about bemoaning the supremacy of the male voice and also offering quite a bit of perspective from the lone male character, but the approach does emphasize the way society’s expectations vary wildly for a "good man" versus a "good woman.
