This was quite an original concept. Annabel, a police analyst (like the author apparently), remarks a growing number of deaths in her town. People who die alone in their homes and aren't found until well after it has happened. No murders, just people who give up, who stop eating and wait in their homes till they die. She starts investigating on her own as nobody else by the police remarks this and wonders about these people. The narrative is told in alternating chapters by Annabel, Colin, and the short stories of the dead in between. I liked that we got to know the back stories of these dead people and their reasons behind their action, or rather inaction, and although they were all different, understandable at some point and had meaning, after several of them I was beginning to wonder how many more would follow, I wanted the investigation to proceed. Impatient me I guess. Even though I knew fairly soon who had an involvement in these deaths it was enjoyable to see into this (very) sick mind. The methods used for ‘helping’ and guiding these people after their decision were not overtly shown but you could sense what was happening. The story’s pace was perhaps a bit slow at times but still an interesting read. It did make me think. ( )

Hummm não me enrolou, começou bem embalado,a história é boa, mas queria mais explicações sobre o Colin e o final ficou tão aberto... ( )

Anabel lives alone with her cat, as a police analyst she hides in her cubicle at work and her social life revolves around getting groceries and dinner for her mother a few times per week. Coming home from her mother’s one evening she discovers her cat reeking and sticky. As she follows said cat to find out what she has been into, she discovers her neighbor, sitting in an armchair in her living room … quietly decomposing. Feeling totally disgusted and then slightly guilty at not even noticing her neighbor’s absence Anabel accesses her work computer to see if any other people are ever found in similar situations. What she finds disturbs her. As it turns out the number of people found in just such circumstance is staggeringly high in her little community. They just seem to lock their doors and die without anyone ever noticing they are missing. Although it appears no crime has been committed, she teams up with a young reporter and then a senior police officer to help her look into what is going on. Anabel finds out soon enough, when her own lonely existence comes to the attention one seriously disturbed gentleman.

This book is most definitely a psychological thriller. It moves slowly (very slowly!). And it is one of the few books in recent memory that has made me seriously cringe. Ms. Haynes seems determined to make us understand a psychopath’s thought process not only in excruciating but also in very cringe-worthy detail. Contrasting that to Anabel’s quiet, mouse-like life makes the villain so much more evil. An interesting part of this book is that as each body is discovered, the “victim” shares a short vignette about his or her own life and why they felt compelled to die, which adds a touch of the poignant.

All in all this was a very dark and disturbing book.
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