DrQuinzel
I also read the first chapters of “The Death of Us” by Abigail Dean and honestly, I didn’t expect it to be this dark at all. When I signed up for this Leserunde, I barely knew what the book was about; I was just excited about the book and the discussions to be in english. As much as I would not have bought the book judging by its cover, I would neither have bought it, if I knew what it was about - it’s definitely not the kind of lecture I usually choose. Nevertheless, Abigail Dean has a way of writing, which captured me from the beginning and I enjoyed the reading quite a lot so far - I’m glad though, that the crimes of Nigel are (at least up to now) not described in much more detail than they are - or else it might have been too much for me.
The writing from different points of view and scattered through the timeline makes it really interesting, I think. It makes the whole story seem a bit like a puzzle, which we assemble chapter by chapter. At first I was a bit irritated by the parts, where Isabel addresses Nigel directly, throughout the chapters this stopped bothering me though and gives it a unique touch.
I have no idea who Nina is. I don’t think she’s the daughter of Edward and Isabel though, since she asks him (Edward) about her parentd on the phone (if they had already been mentioned). Then again I’m not quite sure who a lot of people are… For example, at first I thought Etta was the child of Isabel and Edward and was wondering if she might be dead (killed by Nigel), because Isabel and Edward talked about her and Isabel stated that she misses her. Turns out she was the detective 😄
I also didn’t fully understand why Isabel started lying to Zaccharia and his wife. My interpretation was that it might have been convenient for Edward, since he seems to have a past with Zaccharia that Isabel doesn’t know about. Maintaining that kind of charade throughout the evening might have worked in his favour.
As for Edward putting on underwear before untying Isabel, I can’t really judge him for that. In such an extreme situation, I don’t think anyone is thinking clearly. At the same time, I can completely understand why Isabel resents him for it…
