Second Life
A Novel
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3.7 • 150 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of Before I Go to Sleep, a sensational new psychological thriller about a woman with a secret identity that threatens to destroy her.
How well can you really know another person? How far would you go to find the truth about someone you love?
When Julia learns that her sister has been violently murdered, she must uncover why. But Julia's quest quickly evolves into an alluring exploration of own darkest sensual desires. Becoming involved with a dangerous stranger online, she's losing herself . . . losing control . . . perhaps losing everything. Her search for answers will jeopardize her marriage, her family, and her life.
A tense and unrelenting novel that explores the secret lives people lead—and the dark places in which they can find themselves—Second Life is a masterwork of suspense from the acclaimed S. J. Watson.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
With its lust-fueled plot and dramatic mind games, Second Life set our pulses racing in more ways than one. The novel’s feisty heroine, Julia, reminded us of Gone Girl’s Amy—hard to love, but seductively dark and complicated. When Julia’s sister is murdered, she decides to launch her own investigation, stepping out of her middle-class comfort zone into a thinly veiled underworld of anonymous hookups and danger. As he did with his bestseller Before I Go to Sleep, S. J. Watson uses sinister plot twists to keep us on high alert. His novel raises disturbing questions about the ease of creating alternate identities in the digital age.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Julia Wilding, the narrator of bestseller Watson's overstuffed second novel (after 2011's Before I Go to Sleep), lives a comfortable middle-class life in London with her husband, Hugh, a cardiac surgeon, and their adopted son, 13-year-old Connor. In Julia's younger and wilder days she's a recovering alcoholic she was an art photographer, but now she's content to take family portraits. Then tragedy strikes. Julia's younger sister, Kate, is murdered in Paris, and she throws herself into catching Kate's killer. Though the sisters used to be close, a difficult childhood and Kate's often unpredictable ways came between them, but not before Julia and Hugh stepped in to care for Kate's son Connor is actually their nephew. Julia's quest for answers leads her to a sleazy online dating website, where she initially masquerades as Kate and meets a mysterious man, Lukas, who may or may not have known her sister. Soon she's embroiled with Lukas, as well as with Kate's roommate, Anna, both of whom have the requisite secrets, which are unspooled at a glacial pace.
Customer Reviews
I liked it but I didn't love it
It held my interest but by the end I was ready for it to be over
Glad it's over.
Main character is awful - a poor decision-maker and the twists are torture. The book is well-written, but too much focus on how the main character's body defies her mind.... Endless internal conflict that never results in a good outcome. I am happy it's over!
I hate this book!
I bought this book because I enjoyed "Before I Go to Sleep" and was hoping for something similar. The main character in this book is a complete idiot with no redeemable qualities or likability at ALL. Was not prepared for the many, many sex scenes. Found myself skipping huge chunks at a time and finally just stopped reading all together. Don't waste your money!