Book Review: Invisible Girl

Lives of three different people intersect in this intricate, if undercooked, psychological drama from Lisa Jewell. Invisible Girl revolves around the disappearance of a seventeen-year-old teenage girl and its aftermath, while also touching upon themes of voyeurism, sexual abuse and inceldom. A traumatic childhood experience and a bout of self-harming episodes lead Saffyre Maddox to spend the last three years in therapy with child psychologist Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned and lost following the end of her weekly sessions with Fours, Maddox takes up the task of trailing him and in the process learning more about his secret life, ultimately putting herself in danger. Thus when Maddox vanishes without a trace on Valentine's Day, the blame is conveniently pinned on the "creepy" thirty-something neighbourhood loner Owen based on his history of visiting incel websites and having been at the receiving end of misconduct allegations. Some of these strands by themselves are engrossing, but taken as a whole, they don't come together well as they should, and it certainly doesn't help that with the exception of Owen (Jewell goes out of her way to paint a sympathetic picture of him), the raft of flawed characters are only marginally developed. And so, when the dark, twisted conclusion is revealed, it isn't so much shocking as it's foregone.