Find out what Mumsnetters thought of psychological thriller Exposure by Aga Lesiewicz

Many thanks to Mumsnet for a copy of this.

The first book by author Aga Lesiewicz, entitled ‘Rebound’, was a dark and gripping psychological thriller received to high praise upon release. The author follows this with another crime thriller to great anticipation. But how good is it?

SPOILER ALERT

A great crime thriller will contain mystery, suspense, plot twists, a cast of fishy characters, plenty of 'red herrings', maybe a 'MacGuffin' or two. It will keep the readers guessing until the end. Ultimately, it will be well written, with a sound narrative structure and effective composition. Overall, this book does well to tick most of these boxes. However, there are a number of aspects which let the book down. The story begins well enough. As the narrative progresses, a number of random characters pop-up, all with possible nefarious motives, though not always convincing. But then the book descends into a relationship soap opera, as Kristin’s boyfriend Anton’s infidelity comes to light and the resulting break-up ensues. Although this presents the story with another couple of suspects (i.e. Anton and the women he is having an affair with), this segment of the book drags on insipidly. And the ironic thing is that, as the story develops, we seem to find Kristin falling for / wanting to go to sleep with almost every male character she meets. Just how much did she love and respect Anton in the first place if she gets over him this quickly?

Additionally, Kristin’s mood and demeanour go up and down like a yo-yo. There would be an incident to get her all wound up and worried. But then she would experience something that would have a “cathartic” effect on her. (‘Cathartic’ – a favourite word of the author’s). On Page 92, someone keys Kristin’s parked car leading to a “cathartic effect” on her mood (since, if that is the ultimate bad news of the day, then there is no need to feel anxious anymore). On Page 117, she is angry at her boyfriend’s unfaithfulness - gathering all his belongings into a box and “putting his essentials by the door feels cathartic”. On Page 117, after the latest occurrence, she settles down to work on a photography project, finding the “physicality of the shoot cathartic”. On Page 292, Kristin has her final face-to-face with her friend Sophie, who she cheated on with Sophie’s husband (i.e. apart from being potential killers, the primary function of most of the male characters in this book is as Kristin’s potential and literal love conquests). As Kristin is leaving, feeling dizzy, she is approached by a man, who hands over her dropped set of keys. Observing her distressed state, the man offers to hear her problems. “Wouldn’t it be liberating, almost cathartic, to spill my guts to a complete stranger?”, Kristen thinks. The same stranger who, a minute later, she is falling for. The same stranger who, 2 minutes later, she believes is the killer. (See above - i.e. the primary function of the male characters in this book)

On page 179, Kristin freaks out when noticing a speeding Respro-masked cyclist heading towards her. As the cyclist zooms by, she grabs his rucksack, causing him to crash down to the ground. After forcibly removing his Respro mask, she realises that she got the wrong guy. She makes some feeble excuse - and walks away. And that’s that! THE CYCLIST DOES NOTHING! Surely, in a normal situation, this would be grounds for assault, especially since a wino appears who witnessed the whole thing.

But the biggest mystery throughout the book is why Kristin does not report any of the crimes against her to the police? Your computer is hacked and personal files are stolen. Call the police. Someone graffiti sprays red paint all over your apartment windows. Call the police. You know the bike is stolen. Call the police. Simple! And what’s more mystifying is that since Kristin used to work with the police as a forensic photographer, one would think she would have friends on the force who would trust her, or at least those who would respect her enough to believe her if she were to report the crimes.

Finally, we have the Hollywood, twist-in-the-tale, ending. The author only now reveals the full details of the past, that the culprit was sleeping with Kristin during the time of their previous business venture. So, the killer is angry at having both their personal and working relationship come to an end. But even if the reader wasn’t privy to this information, Kristin knew this, so how clueless was she not to figure out who the culprit was. If not sooner, then at least at the moment the door is opened to Professor Stein’s apartment on Page 307? And since when did the culprit, who has devoted all available time and energy to become a huge career success, become a master computer hacker? The skills needed for the level of hacking that took place isn’t something you just learn part-time over a few years (it wasn’t evident before that the culprit had even basic skills in software programming).

Clearly a lot of hard work has gone into writing this story. The book is well researched – it showcases the author’s knowledge of London, and includes appropriate technical vocabulary related to photography and computer software systems. Plus, I think the author was looking to break the record for the amount of different alcoholic drinks mentioned in a single fictional book. However, the increasingly far-fetched and unrealistic situations, and in particular the tame ending, prove to be a let-down.

If anyome has read it and would like to bookswap it with me pm and I'll let you know what I've got

Just finished my free copy, didn't grab me to be honest, took me a while to finish and I did skim read a couple of chapters, it was ok but wouldn't rush to read anything else by this author,

Thank you for my free copy!
Nice quick and easy read. I thought it was a bit technical to begin with as she overused some of the photographic terms for a general audience IMO. Interesting story but couldn't find myself particularly liking any of the characters, not much depth in them. And the ending seemed a bit quick and didn't really tie up all the ends, what was the random encounter with Marcus all about etc. I probably wouldn't recommend based on the conclusion tbh.

Just finished reading this book last night. I read it in 3 sittings. I was so engrossed and did not suspect the person who was guilty (I won't name who here in case others haven't read the end yet). Really enjoyed it, creepy, well written and very gripping

Exposure is the second psychological thriller novel from Aga Lesiewicz and once again she takes her setting as the trendy, hipster surroundings of open plan loft-living in Hoxton. Her debut, Rebound, documented the catastrophic downward spiral of a formerly successful and confident media executive, Anna Wright, following her break-up with boyfriend and becoming the target of a stalker. Exposure is therefore accompanied by a slight sense of déjà vu when photographer, Kristin Ryder, finds herself maliciously targeted by a string of sinister email attachments from an unknown sender and a crumbling of her relationship with the French street artist, Anton Sauvage, an up-and-coming Banksy. Similarly slow to set out its stall and unravel, Exposure felt in many respects like a rehash of Rebound in that Lesiewicz portrays a mid-thirties female making a decision that comes back to haunt her when she becomes the target of a stalker, seemingly intent on destroying her life. A serious of increasingly far-fetched and unrealistic situations then play out, with much sexual innuendo and with the spotlight of suspicion cycling through the key players in life and all with valid reason.

The novel opens with Kristen Ryder packing up after shooting an advertising job, one of several things that the once ambitious photographer combines to make ends meet, alongside packshot jobs of products for sale (children toys and sex toys in this novel) and other freelance jobs. After a spell photographing crime scenes as a freelance serious crimes forensic photographer for the Met, Kristen has settled for a loving relationship and supporting the burgeoning fame of Anton and accepting her place in the shade. It is when Anton is overseas in Buenos Aires that Kirsten receives the first of what turns out to be an continuing series of sinister emails. ‘Exposure 1’ is a single attachment and features a particularly macabre crime scene photograph that Kirsten remembers working on, but a clearly professional shot hints at someone else having first-hand knowledge of her movements. Replying to the anonymous sender does nothing to calm her fears and elicits no further details, however instead of truthfully confiding in someone she can trust or reporting to the police, she settles for offering a batch of half-truths to various friends. Things go from bad to worse when she then becomes aware of the voyeur in the flat opposite who stands guard at his window and shamelessly observes her meltdowns. As the email attachments escalate and become more intimate than ever she learns that perhaps Anton isn’t quite the perfect boyfriend. In the space of three weeks the doctored crime scene images progress to graphic sexual movie clips and Kristen realises that her laptop has been compromised and someone wants a deadly revenge. But just who who is targeting Kristen and more to the point, what has she done to warrant it? Kristen is sure of one thing only: that she is the single link between each of these five attachments and that someone will stop at nothing to ruin her life.

I had a lukewarm response to Rebound, and I confess to being massively unimpressed by Exposure. As events become increasingly ludicrous, I found the novel became puerile and found it laughable that Kristen didn’t turn to the police. Surrounded by a supporting cast of awful comedy caricatures, from best friend and foodie Sophie and her wet weekend of a boyfriend, Marcus, former art student collaborator and now high-living, Erin and lesbian aunt Vero the emphasis is on cheap gags and ‘Carry On’ humour. As things become totally nonsensical, why anyone with minimal common sense would behave as Kristen did is beyond me. The depth of knowledge on photography from author Lesiewicz is perhaps a little dense and as the finale becomes increasingly tech heavy, with filming drones, spyware, rootkits all involved I found Exposure painfully woeful reading. The icing on the cake is the staggeringly pathetic motivation that turns out to be behind all of this melodrama. Frankly, I found the whole thing an affront to my intelligence and Exposure defies coherent analysis. The high point was seeing the return of the chocolate Labrador in Rebound, Wispa, and when fictional pets are the highlight, you know you are scraping the barrel.

So its an easy to read book,easy to get into.
Characters a bit one dimensional did not feel I got to know them that well.
At times wondered where the book was going but started to guess what was happening and it then became really obvious who it was.
Not sure I would recommend the book to others as I prefer a book that makes me think a bit more than this,one that makes me believe a bit more.

Thanks for the book. A good read, great descriptions of London and the art world. Some of the book I found a bit too far fetched, but I enjoyed it all the same.

Loved the london setting, the photography elements and the shagging ;)

A good thriller, took it on holiday and devoured it. Didn't guess the stalker, and whilst I didn't warm to the main character it didn't stop me rooting for her. I'll be checking out her other books.

Thanks Mumsnet for peeking up my holiday reading.

Absolutely loved this fast paced, gritty thriller, not afraid to mince words, and get down right dirty in parts. It was like a roller coaster ride of a read, mega fast paced got worn out just reading it LOL! I did work out very early on who the baddie was but it did not inhibit my pleasure of reading till the end. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will look out for more books from Aga Lesiewicz again!

Wow! I was completely hooked from start to finish. From chapter to chapter there was always a suspense. I found the book exciting and very well writing. I was gripped to the end. I loved the different characters which some like Vero put a smile on my face. I found the storyline great and I did not found out who the stalker was until email Exposure 5. Love the different sex scenes in the book as it makes it more real and human.

The book really shows you that everything is not what it seems and even if you don't like someone they may pleasently surprise you.

Last time I enjoy a book so much was Conclave by Richard Harris. Exposure is an incredible read and I can't wait to discover more books from Aga.

Thank you Mumsnet.

Thank you for my copy if Exposure. Since reading Gone Girl and Girl on a Train, I've become a fan of good thrillers and was looking forward to getting stuck into this one, unfortunately half way through I gave up, I didn't have the interest or the will to keep going.

There is no question that Aga Lesiewicz is a very good writer, I enjoyed her descriptions of London's art world and trendy Hoxton Square but I could not relate to Kristin the main character who seemed to be making one bad move after another. Also, the plot lacked subtlety, its a collection of every thriller plot and the kitchen sink chucked in to quickly. There is nothing here to make this book stand out from all the others of its type.

I really loved this book. It is a fast paced, gripping psychological thriller. Set in London, it really gave a feel of the area and made me want to visit some of the places mentioned in it.

Kristin is a photographer, mainly of toys, from wooden to vibrating plastic. Her life and those of her loved ones around her started to crumble after receiving 'Exposure' emails. They contain photos of her and her friends in compromising positions. It quickly became obvious that she has a malicious stalker, with an unbalanced mind. Her life spins out of control and loved ones are caught up in the aftermath.

I did not know who the stalker was until the end (thought it might have been Jason from the film studio). Aga writes very well and I am excited to read more books by her. Four and a half stars out of 5 from me.

Thanks for my copy of "Exposure", I do love getting a book in the post! - I rarely choose thrillers so reading this made an interesting change for me. The story was fast-paced and kept me reading (even if her writing is rather full of clichés in places!), and although the main character Kristin wasn't particularly likeable, I still wanted to find out what was going to happen to her. without giving anything away i thought that the ending was all resolved rather too conveniently, and it didn't entirely convince me , but overall would say i quite enjoyed it!

Loved this book, kept me guessing the whole way through, really enjoyed it, thanks for the copy x

Thank-you for my copy of this book. I enjoyed reading this and liked the descriptions of the places in London and details of the main character's life and work. I wasn't totally convinced by all of it but there was enough there to get me through the ending which is more than I can say for the highly rated Girl on the Train!

Thank you so much for sending me this book. I wouldn't usually have read something like this but I have enjoyed books from the same genre. I thought this book was great - I read it in about 4 days. The descriptions were great and I thought the characters were well written. I guessed who the stalker was quite soon in the book but still enjoyed reading it. Would definitely buy another book by Aga Lesiewicz. thanks

A very sexually charged,paranoia-stalker type psychological thriller.The main character from Lesiewicz's previous book plays a secondary role,and that's a nice touch.Very detailed descirptions of photography,tools of the trade and photo art.Enjoyed the atmosphere of this book,very much based in trendy,arty bits of London,you get a good feeling about this place.Found the never ending sexual innuendo not to my liking,not something I could enjoy.I didn't like the main character too much,either.Very well set though,and well researched art photography.

Thank you mumsnet for sending me a copy of the book. It was a quick read which only took me two days to get through.

I'd imagine this would be a good holiday read as you can easily dip in and out of it. I'd never heard of the author before and I'd say I found it an easy read (in terms of reading it quickly not in terms of the subject matter). I didn't find it truly gripping but I did want to know who was the stalker at the end so it held my attention well to find out, and I didn't guess the stalker at all.

It was very good at setting the scene in London, with lots of local information and it gave a great feel for the area. I can't help but think the author must know the area really well. Either that or she's exceptional at making places seem to come to life through imagination.

The all important question now is did Kristin leave it too long to feed the snake and did the snake make it? .

Thank you for the book, I was really looking forward to it. I didn't really like it very much, I didn't dislike it either. I guessed who it was very early on and it didn't make any sense to me why she couldn't see it or wouldn't see it. I did not like her very much and had to force myself to finish it. I know friends who would love this but not me.

Many thanks for the chance to read and review this book...I loved it! I'm so surprised at the other reviewers stating that they knew all along who the stalker was. I didn't have a clue! I was suspicious of everyone, from the sex shop owner to Fly the lodger!

This story was tense throughout. When I wasn't reading, it was still on my mind, and I'd mull over who could be behind the stalking. I even considered putting masking tape over the webcam on my laptop (and haven't ruled out doing this at a later date!) as the story unsettled me so much!

I didn't really take to any of the characters (perhaps because I was suspecting them of being evil murdering stalkers!). I didn't even particularly like Kristin. But I think that such a cast of unpalatable characters really helped to create the dark, tense atmosphere which makes this book such a page turner.

I would definitely be keen to read more by Aga Lesiewicz and will download her first book 'Rebound' onto my kindle in time for my summer holiday. It's a definite thumbs up from me, highly recommended to all fans of this genre.

Thank you for the book which I've just finished reading this evening.

I thought it was okay, albeit rather "jerky" in parts, and it definitely had more than a shoalful of red herrings.
Some of it I found quite frustrating and at times felt like I wanted to give Kristin a good kick up the backside, she was so slow and dithery about everything.
As others have already mentioned, it's quite obvious who the perpetrator is, and there were too many extraneous random and not very credible characters added at times to apparently add a bit of intrigue. However, to me, they seemed almost like they'd been slotted in as an afterthought or a bit of padding, and were far too transparent and clearly not the guilty parties.

Having said that, I did enjoy reading about all the quaint and quirky London locations and the general landscape, and felt the author truly gave England's capital city quite a central role in the book.
I also liked the descriptions of all the senses that were experienced by Kristin throughout, from what she saw and ate to how and what she smelt.
I felt it was quite a sensual book on many levels.

To sum up, I would say that "Exposure" was not the best psychological thriller I've read this year, but it's certainly not the worst one either.

I really enjoyed this. In an age where technology is becoming every more powerful (and potentially invasive) this tale of cyber stalking was quite sobering. Kristin pretty much has it all - a job she enjoys, even if it doesn't make the most of her creative talents, good friends and a healthy relationship with a sexy French artist. When she starts receiving photos via e-mail she has no idea what they mean. As they start to arrive with sickening regularity suddenly it seems she can trust no-one. Before long she has lost pretty much everything and paranoia sets in.
In fairness if you really set your mind to thinking ahead you could probably guess who is behind the e-mails but I was quite happy to go along with the story without trying to second guess. I found it was gripping enough that I didn't want to put it down and creepy enough to keep me on my toes.
The descriptions of London were fabulous - it makes me want to explore some of these "off the beaten track" areas.
If you like pacey thrillers with a bit of cyber geekiness thrown in then I would definitely recommend this.

Just finished my copy!

Good beginning, like the focus on the photography. Pace is very well set, one of the best thrillers I have read in a while. The London setting really adds to the atmosphere of the book. Good ending as well.

A great book, and an easy read. Maybe a bit obvious.