by Laura Wilson
Felony & Mayhem Press, $14.95, 305 pages
Laura Wilson’s The Lover is a chilling dive into wartime terror that extended beyond London’s air raids. What are citizens to do when those who protect them become their greatest fear? The Lover is told from the perspectives of three characters whose lives overlap in the unlikeliest of ways. Lucy is a 21-year-old girl who longs for the romance she is not experiencing in her relationship with loyal, but boring, Frank. Though she is a “good girl,” she is searching for someone more exciting. Rene is slightly older than Lucy, but the two are otherwise similar in appearance, down to the matching coats they wear. Rene lives on the shady side of town, and works the streets to support her son. Once the word spreads that a serial killer is targeting prostitutes in her district, she lives in constant fear. Jim is a flying officer in the Royal Air Force. He was abused as a child, and has become a raging misogynist who is also suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Wilson makes it clear that Jim is the murderer. Rene suspects him, but what is a prostitute’s word against a serviceman’s? Can Renee stop him before she becomes his next victim?
Emily Davis