Trigger warning for very brief mentions of child sexual abuse.
Philippa Malicka’s In Her Defense features not one, not two, but three unreliable narrators. It doesn’t take long to figure out that everyone in this novel has reasons for both hiding the truth and spinning things to present themselves in the best light. To make readers even more uncomfortable, Malicka layers in large helpings of coercive control and parental issues. This book isn’t as dark as it could’ve been, but there’s plenty here to raise the hackles.
Gus Bird was the first character to put my back up. It’s clear that she arranged a job with celebrity Anna Finbow; we just don’t know why yet. She does everything she can to be agreeable to the volatile Anna (unreliable narrator number 2) so that the woman starts to see young Gus as indispensable, perhaps as a confidante. Anna is pricklier than usual because she is fighting—in a court of law and in the court of public opinion—with Jean Guest (unreliable narrator number 3). Anna’s daughter, Mary, cut off all contact with her parents after becoming Jean’s client. (Jean is not actually a licensed therapist. She uses other titles that don’t require specific credentials.) Anna refuses to believe that Mary would ever stop talking to her of her own free will. An angry, hurt blog post prompts Jean to sue Anna for defamation.
Reading a book where I partly-sympathized/partly-condemned most of the characters was an interesting experience. As the primary narrator, I had a lot of empathy for Gus. A few hints about her own neglectful and religiously severe childhood go far to explain Gus’s desperation for someone to love her. These hints also explain why Gus has such poor judgment about people and why she struggles to find the right course of action. Anna, I think, is so wrapped up in her facade of a happy family that she can’t see how unhappy Mary was with performing for the media and hiding her mental health issues. Jean is more overtly villainous. She’s an incredible manipulator. Jean is also the most mysterious character, and I was left without a firm understanding of what makes her tick.
Half of the book follows Gus in her present. The other half contains nonlinear episodes that reveal how entangled Gus is with both Anna and Jean. While Malicka lets us see at least some of these three women’s motivations, she leaves a few things open to interpretation. Who is Gus truly loyal to? What is Anna’s endgame? What is Jean’s? Should Mary run far and fast from all three of these people? Who’s version is closest to the “truth”? Book groups will have a lot of fun picking this emotionally messy novel apart.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.