August 1, 2023
Leah has akinetopsia, or motion blindness. But she can still see, and her other senses are so acute that she can intuit the anxiety of her new neighbor in the apartment next door. After she hears a violent fight there, she learns that Alice has moved in to escape an abusive husband. Then Leah awakens with an intruder in her apartment whose scent lingers in the morning. What should she do? From the author of the internationally best seller The German Girl. Prepub Alert.
Copyright 2023 Library Journal
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
November 6, 2023
A woman with a rare neurological condition that prevents her from seeing movement fears her next-door neighbor might be killed in the gripping latest from Correa (In Search of Emma). Twenty-eight-year-old Leah Anderson has lived with akenatopsia, or “motion blindness,” for two decades. Only able to perceive objects that are perfectly still, Leah has developed sharper senses of smell and hearing as a result, allowing her to scent a perfume across a crowd or hear someone shrug into a coat on the next floor of her Manhattan apartment building. Her condition has left her isolated, especially since the recent death of her mother, and she has little contact with people aside from her housekeeper, elderly neighbors, and doctor. One evening, however, Leah becomes convinced she’s overheard her next-door neighbor, Alice, in a violent fight with her estranged husband. Leah resolves to get close to Alice, worrying that she alone can save the woman from harm. But can Leah trust her senses? Or are they betraying her yet again? Correa brings new life to the familiar Rear Window conceit, wrapping things up with a stunning finale that forces readers to reevaluate each character and their motives. Paula Hawkins fans will devour this. Agent: Johanna Castillo, Writers House (Jan.)Correction: In an earlier version of this review, the protagonist’s name was misspelled.
November 1, 2023
In a departure from his lush historical fiction, Correa (The Night Travelers, 2023) delves into the world of psychological suspense with prose that creates a brooding atmosphere. In modern-day New York, Leah lives alone, relying on the frequent assistance of neighbors and friends since she copes with a rare condition, akinetopsia, that renders her blind to motion. In order to see the movement of an object across a space, Leah must blink. To compensate for this deficit, Leah's hearing and sense of smell have become incredibly keen. Her sensitive hearing leads her to intervene when she overhears a volatile conflict her neighbor Alice is having with her estranged husband; her sense of smell alerts her to the unsettling fact that a stranger has lingered in her own apartment. The central mystery and ultimate reveal rely more heavily on surprise than on a careful unfolding of clues, which may be disappointing to readers seeking the rigor of unwinding the many knots in this tale. But those who are reading primarily to explore the world of Correa's beguiling character will be satisfied.
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December 1, 2023
Correa (The Night Traveler), known for his historical fiction, enters the realm of psychological suspense with a gripping story narrated by a woman who is the definition of unreliable. Leah has led a sheltered life ever since an accident when she was eight years old left her with akinetopsia, a rare motion-blindness. She can see stationary objects, but for anything in motion, all she perceives are brief freeze-frame glimpses. Since the death of her mother, Leah has lived alone, with her only visitor being her longtime housekeeper. So Leah's realization, based on her sense of smell and brief flashes of a person, that someone else has been in her apartment at night scares her, but she hesitates to seek help, knowing that no one will trust the perceptions of a woman with her condition. The visits of the mysterious intruder coincide with the arrival of a new neighbor, Alice. Leah soon befriends Alice and becomes determined to help her with what seems to be an abusive relationship. Then things come to a head one night, and Leah is not sure what has happened. VERDICT This slow-build suspense novel keeps the tension rising as readers are drawn ever deeper into Leah's claustrophobic world. And while the ending feels a bit rushed, the twists are enjoyable.--Jane Jorgenson
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 15, 2024
A woman with motion blindness becomes obsessed with a new neighbor whose husband, she's convinced, wants to kill her. When Leah Anderson was 8, she suffered both the sudden death of her father and a freak accident--unspecified until late in the book--which left her with akinetopsia, a rare condition that causes an inability to see movement. Desperate to protect her daughter, Leah's mother took her out of school and confined her to their Manhattan apartment. Now 28, Leah is reeling from her mother's recent death, balancing profound grief with hope for this opportunity to claim her independence. Her world thus far has been small, mostly contained within walking distance of her home in Morningside Heights, but at the same time, it's more expansive than those around her can comprehend: Her heightened senses of hearing and smell allow her to track her neighbors' movements and give her access to others' most intimate moments, whether she wants it or not. When a woman named Alice moves into the apartment abutting hers, Leah can't avoid the sound of her sobbing or her heated arguments with her husband. Leah becomes obsessed with the idea that Alice's husband is breaking into her apartment, that she and Alice are in real danger--and that she's the one who must protect them. This conviction is strengthened by Alice's sudden intense attachment to Leah, alarming on the page ("We're like Thelma and Louise!" she says on a trip upstate) but intoxicating for Leah. Tonally and narratively reminiscent of Rear Window, this novel expertly draws the reader into Leah's unique perspective, which leaves her convinced of an imminent tragedy she alone can see. It's not only a gripping, surreal examination of the effects of isolation on the mind but also a good old-fashioned thriller. Set aside a chunk of time for this Hitchcockian tale--you'll have a hard time not finishing it in one sitting.
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