BEHIND THE RED DOOR

4 stars out of 5

The only thing I'm sure about after finishing this book is

that just about every character in it is a psychologically screwed-up mess. The end brings some semblance of hope for one, but even then, a return to "normal" seems all but out of the question. And while parts of the book - specifically descriptions of a mother and father from hell - were almost horrifying, nothing that happened came as what I'd call a big surprise.

Fern Douglas, a social worker whose angst is off the charts, is heading out to visit her father Ted in Maine. Most of the way there, she kicks around the pros and cons about leaving her sweet, ever-understanding husband and whether or not she should have shared a big secret with him. But all her life, when daddy called, daughter answered - and this time is no exception. Separated from his wife, Fern's mentally antiseptic mother, he claims he needs her to help him pack up his belongings for his upcoming move to Florida.

On the news, Fern learns that Astrid Sullivan has gone missing; this is devastating because she disappeared 20 years earlier, only to be dumped, basically unharmed physically, along the side of a road near her home roughly a week after her disappearance. She'd been kidnapped, she confirmed at the time, but the perpetrator was never identified amid her shaky recollections. In the intervening years, she found herself a loving wife and wrote a relatively successful memoir outlining her kidnapping, which included mention of being kept in a room with a red door and a young girl Astrid calls "Lilly."

Surprise (not!), Fern starts getting sensations and mental images of something similar, prompting her to begin agonizing over whether she may have had some connection to Astrid all those years ago or (gasp!) might even be the girl to whom Astrid refers. Complicating matters (at least in Fern's already mixed-up head is her father; a retired behavioral scientist, now that she's come back home it seems he's keen on continuing the mental "experiments" that became the only childhood stability she ever knew.

Interspersed amid the happenings in Fern's world (which includes reality and musings from her mixed-up mind) are "chapters" from Astrid's memoir, which Fern is now reading for the first time, as well as Fern's recollections of her interactions (or lack thereof) with her own parents. The endings for all the characters were cleverly written - as was the rest of the book - but predictable. 

Bottom line, to me at least, is that this is a entertaining book I'd love to have read while basking on a beach which, alas, I was unable to do this season because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As such, my usual reading spot on the sofa had to suffice, though I'm sure I'd have enjoyed it a little more with sand washing between my toes while looking forward to a restaurant chef cooking our dinner. That said, it was hard to put it down (I even stayed up past my bedtime to finish), and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-publication copy.

Behind the Red Door by Megan Collins (Atria Books, August 2020); 317 pp.