Summary –
“…Goodbye, Elizabeth.’
Elizabeth, indeed, for fuck’s sake! What had happened to Lily, babe, darling, sweetheart? He kissed me on the forehead and let himself out, shutting the door quietly behind him. Silence echoed, I gazed out the window, through the blur of raindrops, and watched as his tail lights disappeared, bubbling with fresh rage and humiliation. I loved him and yet I’d been unable to stop him making the biggest mistake of his life. He was mine. As I sat there-mentally deflating on the hardbacked sofa-it was then that my Plan of Action had been born. Elizabeth/Lily was disappearing into her cocoon and waiting to emerge as Juliette…”
Nate is handsome, well off and a successful airline pilot. He dated Elizabeth for a short time but she turned very controlling and it didn’t take long for the shine of their relationship to wear off and for Nate to realize that Elizabeth was not really who she pretended to be. So Nate moved her out and helped her get settled in a new place and though he said they would stay friends, tried his best to never see her again. But Nate underestimated Juliette.
Juliette loves Nate and knows that she is what is best for him. She knows that Nate loves her as well, he just needs to learn that he does. Juliette also has the keys to Nate’s home and all his passwords. He never changed them when he moved her out. She also found this cool app that allows her to track his calls and his GPS to let her know where he is at all times, and with who. Juliette has a plan and she will have Nate back and he will be hers.
Juliette is the Perfect Girlfriend and in time, she will be Nate’s perfect wife.
Review –
Karen Hamilton has written JAWS in the form of a young woman. Juliette is relentless, single-minded and with the righteous fervor of a religious zealot. She loves Nate and she knows that he belongs with her. The lengths she is willing to go to and the laws she is will to break are trifles in her mind. Juliette is convinced that not only is it in Nate’s best interest to be with her, but that it will do him harm to be without her.
The novel is told through the eyes and voice of Juliette and it is frightening to behold. More so because it comes off as being so right and logical. If she wasn’t so openly manipulative, the reader might actually be cheering for her. Instead, there is some self realization that she is not as crazy as we would like her to. That Juliette is a lot more like ourselves than we care to admit.
A beautifully crafted and written novel of terror and love.
Books and Lesser Evils 