Book Talk: Lisa Jackson, ‘The Night Before’

Josh Bandeaux, wealthy, local aristocratic family member, mentally alert, physically paralyzed. His head, arms, and upper body are sprawled across his desk. He watches his sleeve being rolled up; razor-sharp surgical scissors click before his eyes. Terror affects every nerve in his body, but he can’t speak, can’t move because of the drug that has been injected into him. He can only observe as his killer, openly identified as Atropos, slices into his veins. He’ll see the blood dribble out as he slowly dies of exsanguination.

Caitlyn, from whom Josh was soon to be divorced, awakes the following morning.  She’s hungover from the previous evening’s party. For many years, she’s suffered from a mental condition that causes her to black out from time to time. She’s covered in blood and suspects that she had a nose bleed during the night. But there’s too much blood. Far too much blood. And she has no memory of what happened the night before.

In Lisa Jackson’s “The Night Before” (2003, 444 pages in paperback format), the author takes us through every agonizing minute of both Josh and Caitlyn’s experience as they think about their respective torments. I found myself holding my breath for unreasonably long periods of times. Jackson can ‘draw out” the details as well as any author.