Reviewed by Rod McLary
Home invasions would be a terrifying experience for the homeowners and their families. As well as the personal and property violence, there are the after-effects – the emotional damage wrought by the invasion and the invaders. The author of this novel – Abigail Dean – has disclosed a long-held fear of home invasions and understandably so as the purpose of a home invasion is never ‘just’ robbery but includes assault, sexual assault, kidnapping or murder. And the psychological effects are profound and long-lasting.
The Death of Us explores these psychological effects focussing on Isabel and Edward whose home was invaded by the perpetrator and on whom – especially Isabel – such harm was caused. But this is not a crime novel; we know from very early on in the narrative who the perpetrator was and the significant number and nature of the sexual assaults and, later, the murders that he had committed. This is a story about Edward and Isabel from their early courting days through to some thirty years later bracketing the home invasion and its effects which subsequently reverberate through the remainder of their lives and subsequent relationships.
The author employs an interesting – and very effective – literary device where in various chapters Isabel addresses the perpetrator directly as if he were a presence in her life – and in many ways he continues to be. At one point, Isabel says to him, referring to the house and garden where she and Edward lived at the time of the home invasion: I’ll tell you now, Nigel, and we can laugh about it together. I thought a child would like the wildness of it, a secret garden in the middle of the city [99]. The irony is that the wildness of the garden allowed the perpetrator to observe without detection the movements of the couple as he meticulously planned the home invasion. Having Isabel address the perpetrator directly allows us an intimate insight into the emotions and thoughts running through her mind as she recalls the terror and aftermath of the home invasion.
Readers sometimes praise a novel by saying ‘I couldn’t put it down’ or ‘I read it in one sitting’. As much as the narrative in this novel grips the reader, it is a novel which has to be put down to allow the reader a breather to gather oneself and to reflect on what has happened – and prepare for the subsequent events. You may need to put it down, but you won’t be able to resist picking it up again.
The Death of Us is an emotionally intense and brilliantly rendered exploration of the damage caused by such heinous acts; but it is also a love story where the love between Edward and Isabel is tested over and over again as they together and separately process the events of that single night.
Well recommended for all readers who enjoy psychological narratives.
Abigail Dean lives in South London and The Death of Us is her third novel; having previously written Day One and Girl A – the latter a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller.
The Death of Us
[2025]
by Abigail Dean
Harper Collins
ISBN: 978 000862 562 7
$32.99; 357pp