English

I have read the book Beneath the skin by Nicci French and it is a chilling read to say the least. The story is about three women, Zoë, Jennifer and Nadia that have nothing in common. Except for the man that wants to kill them. He sends them terrifying letters where he writes down very intimate details of their lives- the clothes they wear, their little habits, how they act when they think they are alone, things he would not know if he had not been studying them for a long time and from a very close distance.

I think that this book plays with our fear of being watched by someone unknown. That there are someone out there that wants to harm us and that he is just getting closer and closer without us knowing and without us being able to do anything about it. I hate those kinds of thoughts as I easily get paranoid and start to imagine things that are not there. Not very healthy in the long run.

“Women. In the summer, I watch them, I smell them, and I remember them. They look at their reflections in shop windows, sucking in their stomachs, standing straighter, and I look at them. I watch them watching themselves. I see them when they think they are invisible.” Page 1.

I get the creeps by this person and his behavior, and it is not revealed until near the end of the book who he is so I, just like the women in the book, starts to distrust everyone around them. I reflect upon every word and every action, just like Zoë, Jennifer and Nadia, just to try to find out who the person that sends the creepy letters is. And the mistake that these girls do is that they start to trust no one, with the result that they end up alone. It is a sad, and in two cases fatal, result, but I can understand it. If you do not know who to trust, then it might be easier to just trust no one.

It is disturbing to read about how the man slowly breaks the women down and how they can not even feel secure in their own homes and with their own family and friends. If there is one place that you should be able to rest and feel secure, it should be in your own home, and this man takes that away from them.

Even if you skip the part where the man says he is going to kill them, it is still disturbing that he is watching them and noticing things that you normally would want to keep to yourself. The small habits that you are a bit ashamed of or embarrassed about and that you do not want anyone else to know about. What if someone is watching me right now? What if someone is following me every day, noticing and remembering my actions, my habits and every other part of my life..?

“Dear Zoë, When does someone like you, young and pretty and healthy, become frightened of dying? I wonder. You smoke (there’s a nicotine stain on your finger by the way). Sometimes you take drugs. You eat bad food. You stay up late and the next morning you don’t get hangovers. Probably you think that you will live for ever, that you will be young for a long time yet.

Zoë, with your white teeth and your one small dimple when you smile, you will not be young for much longer. You have been warned.

Are you scared, Zoë? I am watching you. I am not going to go away.” Page 35.