About This Book
Ellen O'Farrell is a hypnotherapist who has made peace with her string of failed relationships — until she meets Patrick, and something finally seems to click. The catch: his ex-girlfriend is still in the picture, quietly orbiting his life in ways that cross from heartbreak into obsession. What starts as a quirky romantic comedy premise quietly deepens into something more unsettling, asking harder questions about longing, self-deception, and how far ordinary people will go when they can't let go.
Liane Moriarty has a gift for toggling between light and dark without losing her footing, and this novel shows that skill at its most precise. The dual perspective — Ellen's and the stalker's — is where the book earns its keep: Moriarty makes you understand both women, which is far more disquieting than choosing sides. Her prose is breezy and sharp in equal measure, full of the kind of observational wit that makes you read sentences twice. It's the sort of novel that keeps you turning pages not because of plot mechanics, but because you genuinely can't predict where the sympathy will land.
