Author: Leodora Darlington
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Reviewer: Kahlie Riechelt
The Exes by Leodora Darlington is a debut novel. Leodora is a writer from London with Ghanaian heritage.
Trigger warnings are for domestic violence, psychological abuse and coercive control.
Natalie is convinced she has killed three boyfriends who treated her badly. She can’t quite remember due to blackouts and hazy memories. After finding out a bombshell piece of news her husband has been keeping from her, she begins to worry she may harm him as well.
The blurb didn’t quite accurately describe what the book was about. There are a few twists and turns that surprised me but it does go in a slightly different direction. The writing is good, evocative and the author has a lovely turn of phrase. You can feel the despair coming off the main character, Nat, and all the stress she is under to work out what is going on.
This novel would be classified more as a psychological thriller. There are multiple points of view, which is a lot to keep track of. I had to really concentrate on who was speaking at the beginning of the chapter. There is also different timelines jumping back and forth. Overall, this was an ambitious challenge but done quite successfully. There was a lot to take in, particularly at the end, when all the loose ends needed to be tied up. Overall, a solid debut.
Publisher blurb
A shocking new thriller, packed with twists, from an outstanding new voice in fiction
Natalie’s in tears in her bedroom. She’s had a huge argument with her husband. Slowly, she realises she’s already holding a knife.
She’s telling herself she doesn’t want to do it. Not again.
Because Natalie has an awful secret. Sometimes, on her worst nights, she blacks out. She loses control.
What do you do when there’s a killer in your house, and you think it might be you?