4 out of 4 stars
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What Lies Within by Clare de Lune is a treat for the readers who love thrillers. Sophia Varga owns a very unconventional kind of business. From the outside, nothing seems out of the ordinary. But when you look inside, there is nothing traditional about her business. She is one of the owners of "Everlasting Beauty Cosmetics." The key ingredient of the products of this company is extracted from the dead human bodies. Sophia finds real comfort in killing humans, bathing in their blood, and using fat of their bodies for creating various products for her company. Lately, she has been feeling annoyed with her business partner's controlling ways. She wants to be free of him and has already set her eyes on another handsome man, Paul. While she is busy stalking Paul, she has got a stalker of her own.
After a very bad breakup, Ti has come to San Francisco. This is where she catches a glimpse of Sophia. She finds her extraordinarily attractive. Ti is obsessed with her. Little does she know that she might be getting herself into very nasty and disturbing circumstances. Sophia could not care less about Ti and is super annoyed with how she keeps appearing in front of her.
The author has done a magnificent job of describing Sophia. She is a girl who is not normal -- to say the least. She finds it very difficult to act compassionately around others. The only place where she feels comfortable is while murdering somebody. This act soothes her. I could not help but feel bad for Sophia. There were a few chapters, where I thought Sophia to be an emotionally disabled girl. This is very rare for me to feel bad for a brutal murderer; however, the author's style of explaining Sophia's mindset pushed me down that road. I could not decide whether I want Sophia to die or survive.
There are quite graphic scenes of violence and sex. Therefore, this book is definitely intended for an adult audience. Clare has really gone inside the brains of killers and poured all that insight into What Lies Within. Various aspects of the murder -- as for instance the selection of the victim, planning, stalking, and torturing -- are vividly described by the author. These scenes kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the read.
I could not decide whether Sophia is an innocent girl, who just can't be normal, or a devil. This confusion made it hard for me to put the book down before reaching the climax. As for Ti, I wanted her to be safe and away from Sophia. I did not want her to be killed. This emotional connection between the characters and a reader is always a good sign for any book. There is a lot going on in What Lies Within, but the author has narrated it all with an utter clarity.
Needless to say, I loved the book. I could not find anything negative to mention about the book; therefore I would rate it 4 out of 4 stars. The fans of thrillers must grab a copy of What Lies Within by Clare de Lune asap.
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What Lies Within
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