This is part of my Summer Reads series where I’ll be sharing book recommendations – a series of “not just cookbooks”.
This week’s #summerreads pick is out tomorrow, August 6th 2024! I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy which I absolutely tore through. It does require you suspend reality a little (as all the best twisty thriller books and films do) but it is the perfect vacation read. It’s one of those “I’ll just read ONE more chapter” type books!
From the publisher:
An audaciously twisty psychological thriller in which finding the killer is only one of two mysteries its anti-heroine, Cate Winter, tries to unravel. The other: when pushed to extremes, what is she herself capable of?
Cate Winter, at 34, is a wildly successful neuroscientist and entrepreneur who has invented a cure for Alzheimer’s that will improve the lives of millions. On the verge of selling her biotech company for an obscene sum, she is also about to become very rich.
But Cate has a secret that keeps her deeply uneasy about everything she is and does: she grew up at the Cleckley Institute, a treatment facility for the rehabilitation of psychopathic children. And, as far as she knows, she is the institute’s only success: all of her peers have become thwarted, maladjusted or even criminal adults.
Then Cate discovers the existence of another ex-patient and outlier who might prove that her success isn’t a fluke. He has not only stayed out of jail, but he’s made a mark in business and science. Though his identity is confidential, she breaks the rules and drops everything to track him down. And when she finds him, living under an assumed name in Baja California, she is immediately obsessed. Like her, he is driven and brilliant, an innovator willing to do what it takes to perfect a new energy technology that will stop global warming. Here, at last, is her mirror, her ultimate collaborator, the possible answer to the enigma of her nature.
But in the wake of a mysterious death, Cate can’t avoid suspecting him. If he is involved, do his ends justify his means? Ruthless herself, she’s about to find out whether there are any moral lines she won’t cross.
What a wild ride! This would make an excellent film! SO much going on, so many twists and turns!The book is written from multiple points of view – Cate’s was the POV I found the most developed and the one I enjoyed reading most. It felt, in the early chapters, that the multiple POV and storylines couldn’t possibly be related but they are cleverly linked together in an intricate plot that had me guessing until nearly the end!
OK, so it’s completely unbelievable in parts and, yes, you have to suspend reality a little (kind of like in a Bond film !) but that’s part of the fun. It’s definitely a slow burn; care is taken to really lay the groundwork so we understand Cate’s (and to a lesser extent, Hunter’s) backstory. Both Cate and Hunter are really well-developed characters, and I enjoyed reading about their childhood at the Cleckley Institute – if you’re interested in how the brain works, this will be a fascinating read for you.
A page turner of the best kind!
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Disclosure: I received an advance copy from Penguin Random House Canada and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I am not receiving any compensation for reviewing the book. Neither the author nor the publisher reviewed this post prior to publication. All opinions are my own.
Buy The Outlier on Amazon (this affiliate link should bring you to the Amazon store in, or closest to, your country).
For free worldwide shipping, find The Outlier on Blackwell’s.
Support your local Indie bookstore and purchase The Outlier on Bookshop.org.
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Buy my books! In the French kitchen with kids and French Food for Everyone: le goûter (after school snacks), le dîner (dinner) and le petit déjeuner (breakfast) are out now! Click here for details and how to order!
