Looker: A Novel

Laura Sims

Jan 2019 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

*Featured on Best of Lists in Vogue, People, Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, Southern Living, and more*

In this “wicked slow burn” (Entertainment Weekly) of psychological suspense from the author of How Can I Help You, a woman becomes fixated on her neighbor—the actress.

Though the two women live just a few doors apart, a chasm lies between them. The actress, a celebrity with a charmed career, shares a gleaming brownstone with her handsome husband and three adorable children, while the recently separated narrator, unhappily childless and stuck in a dead-end job, lives in a run-down, three-story walk-up with her ex-husband’s cat.

As her fascination with her famous neighbor grows, the narrator’s hold on reality begins to slip. Before long, she’s collecting cast-off items from the actress’s stoop and fantasizing about sleeping with the actress’s husband. After a disastrous interaction with the actress at the annual block party, what began as an innocent preoccupation turns into a stunning—and irrevocable—unraveling.

A riveting portrait of obsession, Looker is “a sugarcoated poison pill of psychological terror” (The Wall Street Journal) and an immersive and darkly entertaining read—“by the end you’ll be gasping” (People).

Ratings and reviews

3 Stars Review by Heather Late Night Reviewer Up All Night w/ Books Blog Looker is the debut novel by author Laura Sims. This novel is being marketed as a psychological thriller. I don’t feel like that is quite accurate. It is definitely psychological, but I never felt like it was a “thriller”. I was nearly halfway through before I realized that nothing “thrilling” was going to happen. However, it becomes apparent the narrator (not named) is going through some kind of mental breakdown, which makes the book more like a character study. From that perspective, it is much more interesting to read. The narrator has separated from her husband after years of unsuccessful attempts to have a baby. She now lives alone, in the affluent New York City neighborhood that she shared with her husband, but only because he prepaid the rent before leaving her. He leaves his cat, Cat, with her, but she doesn’t seem to care about the pet until her husband indicates he wants the cat with him. Then, she lavishes affection on her. She becomes obsessed with a young actress who has moved into the neighborhood with her husband and children. She seems to hate and resent anyone and everyone she encounters. People that she calls friends seem to attract much of her disdain. Makes the reader wonder if she were to have her heart’s desire, a baby, would she even be capable of loving it. If I could suckle a child myself, would I feel the same? Maternally virtuous, like I was growing a future citizen of the nation, but simultaneously disgusted and trapped, clamoring to be free from the leech at my breast? Looker was interesting, but difficult to get into. Ultimately, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological character studies, but wouldn’t characterize it as a thriller.

A woman is falling apart. Her husband has left her ... and left his cat with her. That's all she has because she has no children. After years of needles and tests and the loss of lots of money, she finally gave up. She teaches part-time at a college. But she is one extremely unhappy woman who is walking on the edge. From her view in her house she can see into the neighbor's kitchen at night. Living there is an actress, her screenwriter husband, and their three kids. They are living the life she should have had. She begins stalking ... although that's not what she would call it. She stares at their house ... she starts to dress like the actress, act like the actress. Imagines what it would be like to be her. She fantasizes about the actress' husband. She rubs elbow with the actress during their block party. But soon those happy 'wants' turn deadly. When envy and jealousy turn dangerous ... anything can happen. She is quickly spiraling out of control. Her husband wants his cat back and what she does is pure evil. She has a flirtation with one of her students that turns really wrong. So where is this all headed? The book is told only by this anonymous woman. She ruminates her early life with her husband from her viewpoint only. The reader gets a peek into her mind, what she thought, what she felt. And the reader also watches as she stalks, her mind already turning to darker things. Although the author has written other books (poetry), this is her first novel. It's powerful in its emotions. Many thanks to the author / Scribner Books / Edelweiss for the advanced digital copy of this psychological thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

This is an interesting book, if not a confusing one. The main character is a weird young woman who is slowly losing her mind and obsessing over her actress neighbor. You get to see her slowly devolve into insanity. The character is unlikeable The plot is choppy, with swift changes between fantasy and reality, past and present, that sometimes you're not sure what is actually happening. The story is a little crude at times, a little boring at times, a little confusing at times, and a little funny.

About the author

Laura Sims is the author of How Can I Help You and the critically acclaimed novel Looker, now in development for television with eOne and Emily Mortimer’s King Bee Productions. An award-winning poet, Sims has published four poetry collections; her essays and poems have appeared in The New Republic, Boston Review, Conjunctions, Electric Lit, Gulf Coast, and more. She and her family live in New Jersey, where she works part-time as a reference librarian and hosts the library’s lecture series.