Eye of the beholder

Professional ghostwriter Madeline Wight believes she's found the client who will launch her career: cosmetic surgeon and aesthetic guru Dr. Angela Reynolds. The job sends Maddy to Angela's house in Varaig, Scotland, with minimal Wi-Fi, a seemingly impossible deadline, and Angela's unstable business partner, Scott. As Maddy dives in, more questions than answers float to the surface. Who is Dr. Angela Reynolds, really? Why is there no information about her online? What's going on with Scott's Jekyll and Hyde--like tendencies? In tribute to Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, Bamford (Deep Water, 2022) pens a perilous and nuanced thriller on the dangers of the beauty industry and the lengths people will go to to get what they want. Maddy is a naive and amiable protagonist that readers will ultimately root for. The pacing is achingly slow, but readers' patience will be rewarded with an intense climax and conclusion. Highly recommended for fans of Vertigo and readers who enjoy the intricately plotted novels of Ruth Ware, Sarah Pearse, and Riley Sager.

Paranoia plagues a sequestered ghostwriter in Bamford's atmospheric ode to Hitchcock's Vertigo (after Deep Water). Maddy Wight initially balks when renowned cosmetic surgeon Angela Reynolds gives her just one month to draft and edit her memoir. The project pays a fortune, however, and Reynolds's endorsement would be invaluable to Maddy's career, so she resolves to make it happen. Reynolds flies Maddy to her remote Scottish compound, ostensibly to make their collaboration easier; upon arriving, however, Maddy learns the surgeon will be traveling for much of the month. The house is lonely, with spotty cell service, so Maddy welcomes the unexpected appearance of a second houseguest--Reynolds's business partner, Scott. Attraction quickly sparks between the two, but Scott's blackouts and violent mood swings unnerve Maddy, and she can't shake the sense that he and Reynolds are hiding something. Suspicion and fear color Maddy's propulsive first-person narration, heightening the tension, while a cavalcade of twists and cliffhangers distract from the less plausible aspects of Bamford's plot. Ruth Ware fans will eat this up. Agent: Camilla Bolton, Darley Anderson Agency. (Aug.)