Second Life by S.J. Watson is a book that I was very excited to read, but I didn’t find too memorable. This was my second book by S.J. Watson, the first being Before I Go To Sleep. While I was obsessed with the first book I read by the author, I just wasn’t as into this one. I read it because I was curious but I barely remember what happened a few months later. Even at time of reading, I gave it a 4 star review, which in my world is pretty harsh.

Second Life by S.J. Watson Synopsis

“The sensational new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of Before I Go To Sleep.

She loves her husband. She’s obsessed by a stranger.

She’s a devoted mother. She’s prepared to lose everything.

She knows what she’s doing. She’s out of control.

She’s innocent. She’s guilty as sin.

She’s living two lives. She might lose both . . .”

Goodreads

What I Loved

I didn’t completely hate the book and I did read it quickly. The protagonist was interesting and I wanted to learn more about her. Despite the slow pace of the book, there was a lot to contemplate. The story is 100% unique and there is a lot of substance, despite a lack of action. I did get a little bored but I’m glad I pushed through and finished it. I’ll be sharing a review that I saw on Goodreads that explains this book better than I can, but first…

What I Didn’t Love

The issue with this book is actually the comparison to S.J. Watson’s first book. It just doesn’t compare to the awesome story that Before I Go To Sleep introduced us to. But that shouldn’t be a reason to hate on this book. It was simply too slow for me and not dramatic enough and it looks like people on Goodreads agree. It has a 3.26 rating.

Review from Goodreads

I had to borrow this review to share on here, because it accurately describes my own experience with this book. Thank you Christine – you can find her reviews on Goodreads here. She is 69, an avid reader and her reviews are super thorough.

Christine’s Review

“I had no intention of reading this book as most of my friends who are into thrillers, (which I love), dissed it, giving it 1-2 star ratings. But then my friends who are not that into thrillers, but like good fiction, started to read it and they were giving, for the most part, ratings of 4 stars. One friend, who loves both thrillers and nonthrillers gave it 5 stars! At that point I was strongly encouraged by a couple of Goodreads friends to see for myself what this book is all about. I now thank them for doing so as, surprisingly, I found Second Life to be a compelling read that I finished off in 3 days (very fast for me).

I can see why some readers would give this book 1-2 stars. It is not pacy like most thrillers; it is more of a simmering stroll. There is not action from page 1. In fact, there isn’t that much physical action at all. Some could call it boring, especially the first two thirds of the book. There is a great deal of contemplation in this tale, something some thriller fans have little patience for. Another reason people may not like the book is that the protagonist, Julia, will not appeal to everybody and many may consider her weak or just plain stupid. Since this is Julia’s story, this is not a good thing.”

Why Christine Liked It

“So why did I like this novel? This story is complex, and it is highly, if not totally, character-driven. My absolute favorite type of book is a strong character-driven crime/suspense/thriller novel. And while I can see Julia turning off a lot of readers, as she certainly isn’t role model material, I felt I understood her and why she did the things she did. Thus we connected.

This woman has a good life, yet when her sister was murdered, she could not control her overwhelming need, no matter what, to bring closure to the case, which had become cold in the hands of the French police. This becomes more understandable when we learn she is a recovered/recovering alcoholic. We also find out other things that in context with what I just mentioned clearly demonstrate Julia has an addictive personality. Falling under the control of her addictions, she does things that most reasonable people would not do, given all there is to lose in the process.

There are several provocative themes running through Second Life. We are given an eye-opening look at the dangers of the cyberworld. Really quite frightening. Another prominent subject is whom can we trust implicitly? Our spouse? Our lover? Our best friend? Our siblings? Who? Anyone? No one? And again, we are shown how an addictive personality can take one down a road no one wants to go. It becomes clear that addiction trumps intelligence, addiction trumps judgment.

There are differing opinions on the ending of Second Life. I came to that last paragraph and was dumbfounded. But after thinking about it, I do think Mr. Watson ended the tale the only way it could have ended.

The only things I didn’t like about the story were the reliance on coincidence once or twice for plot purposes and a couple of the twists that felt a little improbable to me.

I was intrigued, mesmerized, and yes, thrilled by Second Life. It’s not for everyone. But if you like great character-driven fiction and slow-burning psychological thrillers, this one’s for you. If still in doubt, check it out for yourself. I’m glad I did.”

Summary

Second Life by S.J. Watson is an interesting book. A few people loved it, many hated it and the rest of us found it meh. Like Christine says, don’t listen to other people. Pick it up, take a look and decide for yourself if you like it or not. Even though this book didn’t thrill me, I would love to read more by the author because Before I Go To Sleep was just that awesome. There are other authors out there who I find write books that are either hit or miss, such as Ruth Ware. I don’t know about you, but I rarely regret reading a book.

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