Character driven slow-burner of a novel, about the aftermath of a crime and a couple whose marriage could not survive what they lost. This book has some mystery elements but is not a psychological thriller, rather it is a general fiction novel about a couple named Isabel and Edward, the couple met in their early 20's when they both were dating other people. Their romance wasn't typical; it was more a case of them running each other and having feelings slowly developed. They married and were quite happy with Isabel working in the communication industry while trying to make it as a writer and Edward working as a lawyer. Their lives changed forever when a man who later became. a serial killer entered their home and attacked Isabel while Edward was kept in another room. The book begins when the couple are in their late 50's, divorced and are about to attend the trial of the man who was eventually caught.

Going back and forth in time we see Isabel and Edward both as young people who fell in love then as a couple dealing with the aftermath of a terrible attack and finally as a divorced couple who still care about each other. Edward has remarried a woman with children and Isabel has become a famous playwright. We also meet Amy, Edward's wife and Etta, a police officer who never gave up in finding the killer. I thought the book's momentum slowed down a lot in the end and it seemed there was nothing more to say at that point, but overall it was beautifully written, sad and yet somewhat hopeful. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the gifted earc to read and review. This is this month’s PMReads selection and, as always, I went in blind not knowing what to expect. This is such a different story of the aftermath of a serial rapist and murderer who targets husbands and wives and how this affects their entire lives moving forward after the event both while the offender is at large and once on trial. It is based around two characters Isabel and Edward and spans their entire relationship from before, during and after. It’s slower paced but so nuanced and really shows two flawed beings and their navigating their lives and relationships. Through Isabel’s written words to the accused you get an honest and riveting take on her past experiences as well as the pov of Edward’s thoughts in the present throughout. I found this wholly engaging and difficult to read but could not put it down. This is less a thriller or procedural but has elements of both. I would say it’s more an introspective on how this trauma affects our main couple while sharing pieces from other victims, the police and proceedings.

Netgalley ARC

This is a heavy book, but it's one that got under my skin, and I think it will stay with me for a long time. There is a pervasive sense of unease throughout this book. Dean has done an exemplary job of making you feel the sense of foreboding and discomfort. The story felt very reminiscent of the Golden State Killer, and if you read I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer or watched the documentary, you know that the couples didn't all make it through. Watching Edward and Isabel's marriage fall apart in the wake of what happened was so heartbreaking. Especially in contrast to both the beginning of their love story and the later life of another couple who managed to stay together.

This is touted as a crime thriller, but I don't think I'd even call it a mystery. It's more of a deep look at a relationship that is falling apart. This is a very heavy read, please approach it with caution and give yourself some grace on this one.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I enjoyed the alternating perspectives! This book kept me in suspense and I’d highly recommend it. It started as a slower burn for me but I was intrigued and was flipping fast at the end.

A violent home invasion is at the core of this story. The victims were thirty-somethings who were young newlyweds at the time. Twenty-five years later, the serial killer is caught and put on trial. The newlyweds had split up and each chose a different route to deal with their trauma. They both decide to attend the trial with the other victims and their families. I found this novel to be dragging in many parts, and I did not like either one of the main characters.

"Despite you, I've still been loved."

Heartbreaking, gut-wrenching - one of the roughest books I've read. People marked this as a mystery and I'd have to argue that. This was a very introspective look at a relationship in crisis - A couple is attacked in their home and the wife is raped for hours while the husband is in the room next door. This is just one in a string of attacks from this serial rapist.

And this story is the story of this couple trying to live through it. You get the beginning of their relationship - the meet cute, the giddiness. You get the friends support, the exciting proposal, the wedding, the years and the love. The attack, the years after, the hurt and pain and feeling of being lost they each experience. It was so sad, and so hard to read. I kept imagining what it would be like and it would just break my heart all over again.

The last 1/3 of the book was so much easier. It gave us the missing years, what worked and what hadn't, and it wrapped the story up wonderfully. Just please, be gentle with yourself if the subject matter is hard. It's a tough read, but good.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

The South London Invader terrorized families in Abigail Dean's The Death of Us. Twenty-five years after the brutal assault on married couple Isabel and Edward he's been caught and is awaiting sentencing.

This novel was intense. Told from two perspectives: Isabel's as she's narrating the past in a harrowing impact statement to the offender, and in the present from Edward's. The devastation portrayed from all the parties, including that of other victims, family members, and investigators, was heartbreaking.

The creep factor was high. The escalation of the crimes, the methods and trajectory very reminiscent of the Golden State Killer. We are familiar with these stories. But by focusing on the families and the aftermath, Dean gives a compelling narrative seldom realized. I was mesmerized.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for the Advance Reader Copy. (pub date 4/15/2025)

This story just did not grip me in the way I was expecting. It's branded as a thriller, but I did not find it particularly "thrilling." It definitely read more literary fiction.

This book was like… what if emotional repression and unresolved trauma held hands in a courtroom and then punched you in the heart? Yeah. That.

Abigail Dean absolutely knows how to craft a quiet, devastating narrative. We follow Isabel, who reunites with her former love Edward almost thirty years after a serial killer shattered their lives. Now, they’re both back in court for the sentencing of the man who destroyed everything and what unfolds isn’t just about justice, but about memory, guilt, love, and the versions of ourselves that get stuck in the past.

What Worked For Me:
✨ Dual timelines that actually slapped then cried about it.
✨ The way grief and love are tangled into every sentence like emotional barbed wire.
✨ Isabel is the kind of protagonist who feels real. Not likable or dramatic just honest in the most raw, human way.

This wasn’t a twisty, plot-heavy thriller it’s slower, more introspective, and honestly... sad in a way that sneaks up on you. The writing was sharp and haunting, and the courtroom scenes?? Felt like emotional gut punches. In a good way.

Why it’s a 4.25/5 for me:
It did drag a bit in parts needed just a little more momentum or payoff in the middle. But the ending?? Worth it. Quietly powerful. The kind that doesn’t scream it lingers.

Final thoughts: If you love literary thrillers that focus more on people than plot, and you want to be emotionally wrecked by subtle grief and complex love… this is for you. Sad, slow, and stunning.

More of a character story than a thriller. Heartbreaking but difficult and sensitive topics were handled extremely well.

Let me start by saying WOW! I devoured this book! It was tragic and gut-wrenching. I literally felt the emotions that the couple was experiencing and that’s when you know a book is great; when you can connect with the characters in a meaningful way. This book made me feel so many things and I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. I give it all of the stars!!

The Death of Us by Abigail Dean is a masterful, haunting novel that defies easy categorization. On the surface, it’s a slow-burn crime story about the aftermath of a violent attack on a young couple. But underneath, it’s a tender, aching exploration of love, memory, and the invisible wounds we carry.

Dean writes with quiet precision and emotional depth, unraveling the layers of trauma and resilience with care. The story unfolds gradually, drawing you in with its atmospheric tension and richly drawn characters. Though steeped in sadness, there’s a faint, persistent glow of hope—and it’s that quiet resilience that lingers long after the final page. A love story. A tragedy. An unconventional crime novel. And utterly unforgettable.

In The Death of Us, Abigail Dean delivers a quiet, emotionally searing exploration of a couple shattered by an act of violence. Isabel and Edward, both in their thirties, are left reeling after a brutal home invasion in their South London house—an incident that doesn’t just break into their home, but infiltrates the deepest corners of their relationship and psyche. What follows is not a conventional crime story, but something far more intimate: a portrait of two people struggling in the aftermath, unable to articulate the depth of their pain. Dean carefully traces the years that come after, showing how silence can be just as destructive as violence—and how long trauma can live beneath the surface. It’s only with the eventual capture of their attacker that Isabel and Edward are finally forced to confront what truly happened—not for justice, or closure in the public sense, but for each other. That emotional reckoning is what makes the novel so powerful. This is a slow, deliberate narrative that allows the reader to fully inhabit the emotional landscape of the characters. It’s raw, deeply human, and beautifully written. Though steeped in sadness, there is still the faint, persistent glow of hope—and it’s that quiet resilience that makes this novel unforgettable. Thank you for the. ARC, NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking!

This was such a powerful and heartbreaking look into trauma and how it shapes our lives and those we love. This was very well written and at times hard to read due to the subject matter. I thought the author handled the tough subject matter with care and I always felt like we were rightfully focused on the victims and not the perpetrator. It was heavy and often sad but definitely worth the read.

Isabel Nolan and Edward Hennessy met when they were nineteen. Although Edward already had a girlfriend, he was attracted to the quirky and intriguing Isabel. She went on to complete her university studies, and Edward became a successful lawyer. Eventually they married and were happy until, on a terrible night that would leave enduring scars, a masked man entered their home and assaulted Isabel for hours. In the aftermath of this horrendous attack, Edward did his best to comfort his wife. However, he became increasingly busy at work and was not always there for her. Meanwhile, Isabel retreated into her own private hell.

The writing in "The Death of Us," by Abigail Dean, is achingly poignant. Dean sensitively describes how life's ordeals can weaken once loving relationships. It is a shame that the author's numerous flashbacks disrupt the narrative flow and make the book's timeline so difficult to follow. In the chapters devoted to Isabel's thoughts and feelings, she eerily addresses her attacker as if her were in the room with her. Edward comes across as well-meaning, but helpless to repair his deteriorating marriage.

Two of the secondary characters stand out in this angst-laden and densely plotted work of fiction. They are Detective Chief Inspector Etta Eliogu, who resolutely attempts to track down the predator known as the South London Invader, and Nina Bosko, who was orphaned at the age of four after the perpetrator killed her parents. There are occasional moments of wry humor in these pages but, overall, this is painful exploration of the wreckage left in the wake of an unspeakably vicious crime spree.

This is the story of a married couple, Edward and Isabel, who survive a horrific crime. Told in dual POVs - Isabel's beginning a few years before the crime and written directly to the perpetrator, and Edward's in present-day. This is not a thriller. I've heard stories such as this one described as "intense love stories," and I would agree with that. This is the love story of Edward and Isabel and the effect this horrific crime has on their relationship and on them individually. Go into the story knowing that, and I think you will enjoy this one!

Isabel and Edward are victims who survive a perpetrator like the Golden State Killer / Night Stalker. Present-day, Isabel and Edward are in their fifties, living in England. The perpetrator has finally been caught 25 years after committing the crime suffered by the couple. We understand they are no longer together and that something has happened to them. The novel weaves together their story. Though there are elements of suspense, this is more a character study of what happens to a couple that survives a horrific crime. The novel is told in both of their perspectives and we learn how they meet, fall in love, and eventually separate after a decades long relationship. The people in their lives are drawn so beautifully. Characters are flawed but realistic and endearing. It was fascinating to see how each character dealt with trauma and grief. I would recommend this if you enjoyed Bright Young Woman by Jessica Knoll.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Did a home invasion by a serial killer cause THE DEATH OF US? That’s the question in Abigail Dean’s latest thriller.

Twenty five years, ago Edward and Isabel Hennessy were 30 years old and had just moved to London. They were enjoying their lives with fun jobs and close friends. On May 26, 2001 the South London Invader, Nigel Wood took them hostage and almost ended Abigail‘s life. What happened that night and in the aftermath caused their marriage to crumble and they separated. Since that time Isabel has done everything she can to remember that night and how it changed the course of her life, while Edward has tried to put it behind them and forget about it. When ancestry DNA finally catches up to Nigel Wood after 25 years, Isabel and Edward are called upon to prepare Victim Personal (Impact) Statements at Nigel‘s trial.

Told in differing POV’s and dual timelines we follow along and watch the love story of Edward and Isabel. We learned what happened that night and how it has changed both of their lives. We learn of their daughter, whose birth was another catalyst for the marriage’s downfall.

While I enjoyed the book, which I usually do with an Abigail Dean novel, I must admit that it got a bit confusing near the end. It was also interesting to see the parallels with the original Night Stalker from the United States. The writing however, was clear and concise and led to an enjoyable read. I look forward to seeing where she takes me next.

Thank you, you too NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

Abigail Dean’s “The Death of us” explores the aftermath of a home invasion and assault on a couple, Edward and Isabel. As we follow their love story, we feel impending doom knowing what’s to come. We flash back and forth between present day and the South London Invader’s sentencing in court. This powerful read deserves all its accolades. It’s heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.

This book was un-put-down-able, but also difficult to read. The serial killer in this book is based off of the Golden State Killer, and follows a couple who were his victims. But there is love in between the darkness, and it kept you turning every single page. Read this book if you liked “I’ll Be Gone In The Dark.”