Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill

The Synopsis

​Jean Mason has a doppelganger.
 
She's never seen her, but others* swear they have.
 
*others | noun. A peculiar collection of drug addicts, scam artists, philanthropists, philosophers and vagrants the regulars of Bellevue Square.
 
Jean lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and two kids. The proud owner of a thriving bookstore, she doesn't rattle easily not like she used to. But after two of her customers insist they've seen her double, Jean decides to investigate. Curiosity grows to obsession and soon Jean's concerns shift from the identity of the woman, to her very own.

​My Review

What initially intrigued me about this book was the idea of someone having a doppelgänger and I couldn’t wait to see how Redhill explored this.
At first, the book took me a little longer to get into than I’d expected, but once I was hooked, I found the story totally gripping and I was compelled to read on and on. I had so many questions and I never knew what was coming next, it was a real roller-coaster ride, and one I thoroughly enjoyed.
There’s so much more to this than just the doppelgänger theme though, later in the book, much darker themes are explored and they can be quite unsettling, although I still couldn’t help but turn the pages.
I think it was the characters that really brought things to life for me though, each one feels real and Jean in particular is such an interesting character to read.
Overall, I’m giving Bellevue Square 4 out of 5. It’s compelling, unsettling, and totally unique. If you fancy reading something memorable and really different from the norm, give this a try.

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About the Author

​Michael Redhill is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Redhill was raised in the metropolitan Toronto, Ontario area.