Book Review: Second Life by SJ Watson, author of the best selling Before I go to sleep, now a motion picture starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth

SJ Watson was always going to have a hard job on his hands to equal his debut novel  Before I Go To Sleep, but in  Second Life  he manages to, once again, delve into the female psyche to deliver a believable psychological thriller told in the first person.

Gare Du Ourcq

When Julia Wilding's sister is murdered in a seedy alleyway near The Gare Du Ourcq in Paris Julia, grieving and distraught embarks on a journey to discover the murderer that ultimately endangers her family and the 'second life' her husband Hugh provided for her when, destitute, she

left the Berlin of Iggy Pop and Bowie so many years earlier.
Watson excels in creating real characters with real flaws and feelings.  Julia is a product of her past and present combined.  With an addictive personality she is full of self- doubt and guilt and caught up in grief she allows herself to behave erratically and becomes manipulated as through an online dating site she sets off on a pursuit of the truth behind her sister's death.
Watson is a bit like the Witch in Hansel and Gretal; dropping tasty morsels to lure us further into the woods only to sucker- punch us at the end with a dynamite twist.  

As I read, not only did I became more and more invested in Julia's story, but I also became more actively involved in debating the possible outcomes and although all the clues were there, I was still caught off guard by the end twist. Watson is indeed a master of the triple twist.
I highly recommend this book and I have to say it was well worth the wait. 

Kindle £7.60 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Second-Life-S-J-Watson-ebook/dp/B00OFA20LI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423238924&sr=8-1&keywords=second+life+sj+watson
Audio book via Audible £20.99 or free with  30 day free trial http://www.amazon.co.uk/Second-Life-Unabridged/dp/B00SMAJ754/ref=tmm_aud_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1423238924&sr=8-1