The Winter Girl

By: Matt Marinovich

Narrated by: Quincy Dunn-Baker

Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Scott is spending his winter in the Hamptons with his wife, Elise, who is taking care of her terminally ill father. With Elise in the hospital every day and their marriage growing increasingly strained, Scott spends a lot of time alone. He finds himself fascinated with the seemingly empty house next door, where every night the lights go out at exactly 11:00 p.m. Convinced no one is home, he decides to break in the next day.

Although he doesn't discover much of interest, trespassing gives him a thrill he hasn't felt in a long time. He soon convinces his wife to come with him on his next visit, and their simple transgression leads to an escalating series of bad decisions, infidelities, violence, and shocking revelations.

Key selling points:

A poisonous bon bon: sex, secrets, violence, and marriage wrapped tightly in a deceptively short novel. You'll enjoy every deliciously naughty moment through to the chilling end.

Blistering prose: Matt Marinovich has the voice, razor sharp throughout, and then he just hits you with a line or paragraph or scene about love and loss and loneliness that makes you realize you've been holding your breath for minutes.

Rear Window unhinged: Scott likes to watch. He's not the only one.

A scathing take on the Hamptons: What is more tasty than the worst-case scenario playing out in those big Hamptons mansions? Whatever happens, it still won't affect property values....

©2016 Matt Marinovich (P)2016 Recorded Books

Suspenseful, creepy, a real page turner

Take a couple going through a midlife crisis (frustrated in their jobs, no money, no children, no dreams) and put them in a Hitchcock-like scenario where the husband starts, out of boredom (and while his wife his attending the terminally ill father), lurking at the summer house next door where strange things seem to happen….
The book is a real page-turner, past-paced with unexpected plot twists: The story gets increasingly dark, at times creepy and disturbing on multiple levels. The book is far from being as polished and insightful as Gone Girl (one can’t stay away from comparing the two books…). The author has taken the (strange) choice to avoid any character development: we do not have even hints of their physical appearance, age or anything that could induce the reader to feel some empathy and additional closeness to the story . Toward the end the novel is muddied by the fact that so many things are happening at once- without good explanation- and it sort of loses it's way for a bit, but the end is as good it can be.
Despite its shortcomings, I read the book in a couple of days (exceptionally fast for me) and, must admit it, I enjoyed more than a bit. Marinovich for sure can write (this is only his second book) and the narrator - Quincy Dunn-Baker- does an excellent job.

Lacking.

What disappointed you about The Winter Girl?

There is very little character development in this story. The author jumps right in with the lights next door....seems rushed to me. Throughout the story, you don't feel interested or connected to any character in the book. The story isn't written well in my opinion. It feels disconnected, leaves questions unanswered, lacks a climax, and isn't tied up well. There are many times that the author paints a picture of a character through a scene, only to contradict that picture later in another scene. This leaves you not sure if you ever really know or understand who the characters are and why they behave as they do.

How could the performance have been better?

I found the narrator's voice to cause me further dislike of the main character.

Dark and Intense

This addition to the 'Girl' genre is not a run of the mill offering... It's quite somber at its lightest and disturbing, visceral, and raunchy at the other end... It's a very good read w/ excellent pace and delightfully unlikeable yet transfixing characters... The story gets a lot in in a short time making the story even more intense and gripping than a longer work might have been... Disfunction abounds and dark humor is cunningly done... Not for the faint of heart or any w/ delicate sensibilities... This story clobbers you over the head w/ grit and ugly depths... You'll be discomfitted, but you'll keep reading greedily... The narration is better than average... It's worth the credit if you can handle... Not as good as "Gone Girl" or "The Girl on the Train" but imo better than "The Good Girl"

Good listen

I really enjoyed listening to this story. The ending was very abrupt and disappointing. Lots of twists and turns to keep your attention.

Gone Girl on steroids

This book reminds me of Gone Girl, except 100 times more twisted and disturbing. The subject matter is dark, depressing, and sick...and yet Marinovich manages to make the story satirical, funny, and entertaining. The writing is brilliant, and each sentence is packed with evocative and at times hilarious descriptions. I was impressed that Marinovich managed to fit so much storyline into only 6 hours and 30 minutes. If you liked You by Caroline Kepnes, you'll probably like it, but definitely be forewarned that this book isn't for the faint of heart.