S. F. Prescott

Not the ending I expected!

Callie Kazumi is a British-Japanese writer who started work on her first book after being gifted Stephen King’s On Writing by her father. She lives in London with her husband and their Bichon Frisé, Betsy. Cuckoo / Claire, Darling is her debut novel.

Claire, Darling will be published March 11th, 2025

When Claire’s fiance, Noah, ghosts her, she’s crushed, and decides to take matters into her own hands. This story was bananas in the best way!

I don’t want to give too much away, but writing an unreliable POV like Claire’s is both challenging and rewarding (when done right), and Kazumi has accomplished just that. I thought I knew what was going on, but when the story reached the midpoint it threw me off completely and I realized something much darker was going on. Considering Claire’s background with her mother, which is included as regular flashbacks throughout, her mental state made sense. Having been raised by a narcissistic parent, it’s obvious that it took a toll on her mental health.

The story gripped me. However, the second half during the court proceedings slowed the pace. I would have enjoyed a few more shocking revelations from her past. I enjoyed how the midpoint tied back to the prologue, filling in all the blanks in between. Kazumi’s voice was compelling and I enjoyed reading from Claire’s POV, but would have also enjoyed to see from other character’s perspectives, even toward the end of the book.

For readers who enjoy unreliable narrators, steady paced suspense, and themes of mental health.

Synopsis:

Claire is excited to drop off a surprise workday lunch for her fiancé, Noah. It’s their anniversary, after all. But when the receptionist tells her that no one with Noah’s name works there, Claire thinks there must be a mistake.

Noah isn’t picking up her calls. Her texts go unanswered. It turns out Noah has a different life . . . one with a beautiful girlfriend, a beautiful house. Claire was never really in the picture.

Desperate to speak to Noah and convince him to return to their dream life, Claire plunges into a nightmarish journey of obsession that submerges her deeper into the murky waters of her own past—a past dominated by a manipulative mother who shattered her sense of self.