For Mystery Month, I selected a suspense thriller from Lyn Liao Butler, Someone Else’s Life.

Butler moved from Taiwan to the United States when she was seven years old.

She was a professional ballet and modern dancer before she began her writing career.

In addition to being a bestselling author, she is a personal trainer, yoga instructor, and avid animal lover who volunteers with rescues and fosters dogs.

Annie is reeling from the closing of her dance studio in New York, and the sudden deaths of her mother, and her beloved dog. A terrible accident that her young son, Finn, witnessed but has not been able to verbalize has made her dream home in a lakeside community toxic.

At the urging of her father and sister, Annie, her husband Brody, and Finn, move to the island of Kauai. Growing up, her family vacationed there, and her father and sister have settled permanently in the family’s vacation home. They offer Annie, Brody, and Finn, the guest house until they can find a home on the island. It seems like the perfect opportunity to reset the happy life that recently unraveled.

Living in paradise is not the quick fix Annie was hoping for, and she is still struggling to reconnect with her dad, Brody, and Finn.

She begins to misplace belongings and often feels like she’s being watched. Annie is afraid to tell anyone because this is clearly not normal.

The idea of dancing again seems pointless, but she decides to volunteer at a local animal shelter where she falls in love with an adorable young dog she adopts. She takes Finn on outings, but something seems off.

While Annie is home alone during a tropical storm, a strange woman knocks on her door begging for assistance. Serena’s car broke down in the storm, and she has nowhere else to go. Reluctantly, Annie agrees to let Serena wait out the storm with her.

Over wine, Annie and Serena begin to bond over shared experiences… experiences that are eerily similar. Serena seems to know things about Annie and her family. Did she mention this personal information in conversation and not remember? Can two people have parallel lives?

The longer Serena stays, the more obvious it becomes that something’s not right . When Annie learns the real reason Serena knocked at her door, she must fight for everything she holds dear. How far will a mother go to protect her child?

Annie has been struggling with untreated depression because of her Asian family’s traditional reluctance to seek help with mental health issues. She’s not thinking clearly, and we should not expect her to react as we would. She’s vulnerable and easily manipulated by the right person. Serena has spent years becoming that person.

Butler has created an intense psychological thriller that isn’t entirely believable. Other readers/reviewers have commented on the implausible aspects of the plot, but it’s a work of fiction. There were many times I wanted to shake Annie out of her cluelessness and make her behave as I would (or I think I would) in that particular situation, but I have a tendency to be a fixer. I wanted to “fix” Emma Bovary and Holden Caulfield, but the literary world would never have forgiven Flaubert or Salinger if they had allowed their characters to behave as rational beings at all times. Emma and Holden might be easily forgotten if they had.

Annie will be remembered for her flaws as well as her moment of action.

Other Novels by Lyn Liao Butler:

The Tiger Mom’s Tale (2021)

Red Thread of Fate (2022)

Crazy Bao You (Release date – 06/06/2023 - written as Lyn Liao)

What is Mine (Release date – 02/06/2024)

Photo Credits:

Images of Lyn Lao Butler and book jacket taken from her website for the benefit of our readers with no intention of copyright infringement: https://lynliaobutler.com/bio/