Based on a True Story

March 27, 2017
Delphine, the narrator of this unsettling metafictional tale of obsession and interchangeable identities from de Vigan (Nothing Holds Back the Night), reverts back to her shy, schoolgirl persona after the success of her latest autobiographical novel leaves her feeling overwhelmed. Then she meets the chic, confident L., with whom she immediately strikes up an easy rapport. The friendship develops smoothly, with the two women getting drinks around Paris and learning more about each other. Except L. seems more eager to know everything there is to know about Delphine—all about her two grown children, her relationship with her boyfriend—than share much about herself. Writing is at the center of the relationship: Delphine’s inability to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and L.’s insistence that there’s a book Delphine must write. Almost without realizing it, Delphine cedes control to L., with dire consequences. While readers might pick up on L.’s unsavory nature faster than Delphine, the insidious nature of a complex mind game masquerading as friendship is chilling to watch unfold.

April 1, 2017

As the very title suggests, this latest work from Prix Goncourt finalist de Vigan (Underground Time) is metafiction, or memoir as fiction, but it's also a smart, elegant thriller that generates its chills from the very ordinariness of events as they start unfolding. A novelist named Delphine, fragile and anxious after the unexpectedly overwhelming success of a new novel, attends a party and becomes enchanted with a women named L., who flirtatiously tells Delphine that she's beautiful when she dances. L. seems perfectly attuned to Delphine and counterbalances her unease with feminine sophistication. Later, after receiving a particularly angry letter from a reader, Delphine gets a call from L., welcome if puzzling; where did she get Delphine's number? L. explains that away and slides smoothly into Delphine's life, eventually taking over. In the end, Delphine is caught in a web of her own making. VERDICT A fine portrait of predation as real as anything in the jungle; scary and persuasive for most readers.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2017
Writer Delphine finds herself unprepared for the tremendous popularity of her latest book. It's brought the unwavering support of her fans, along with the ire of others, particularly the anonymous author of unsettling letters. At a party one evening, a weary Delphine meets L., a fellow writer, and the two immediately connect. Soon Delphine and L. are seeing each other constantly, and Delphine is quick to shrug off some of L.'s idiosyncrasiesshe never visits when Delphine's children are present, for instance, and she seems to always be in the right place at the right time. Soon Delphine is under pressure to begin her next book, and her anxiety becomes paralyzing. L. takes it upon herself to help Delphine and becomes more and more involved with both her life and her writing. Before long, L.'s influencewhich spans yearscauses Delphine to question her innermost thoughts, abilities, and realities. Award-winning and best-selling de Vigan (Nothing Holds Back the Night, 2014) crafts a haunting, provoking tale that grows in intensity as the truth Delphine seeks becomes harder to find.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)