Book Review: Mia

Mia

By Leslie Bazzett

Sally is desperate for a purpose. She wants to be a writer, but she has trouble focusing when she sits down to write. Her stories are dark and bleak and weird. Her childhood trauma plagues her and makes her feel worthless at times. When her family moves to San Miguel in Mexico, Sally throws herself into a new life there, enjoying the glamorous home, variety of food, and chance to meet new people. Her two children attend a prestigious local school, and one day, near the school gates, she meets a mysterious woman who calls herself Louise, who has an artsy, mysterious glamour around her.  

Over months, Louise invites Sally to see another side of the city, away from the tourists, like the local hot springs, and invites her to attend parties she hosts that are much like artist salons. Louise has fascinating stories, of all the famous artists and writers she has known, and she encourages Sally in her writing.

Things get weird when Louise starts introducing Sally to her friends as Mia, and both Sally and Louise let everyone assume they are daughter and mother. Sally becomes more entwined with Louise with every passing day, as Louise fills the void of Sally’s loneliness and desire to have a matriarchal figure in her life.

At times, Sally likes becoming Mia, feeling like she has a new family. Things are going well, even if there are odd moments, and Sally brings her children to Louise’s house. Her mercurial daughter Ida loves art, and Louise takes an interest in her. Sally’s husband Tom warns Sally away from Louise, but she resists. Near the end, events take a turn when Sally makes a huge mistake and realizes she can’t trust Louise and her half-truths and manipulations.

My Thoughts

I read reviews that made comparisons to Patricia Highsmith. The descriptions of characters were never sympathetic and the presence of a setting that felt distant from America, so that the characters could become new people, and I also wondered if some of the characters were sociopaths, so this all reminded me of Highsmith. However, I think the plotting in something like The Talented Mr. Ripley was much stronger. Not much actually happened in this book until the very end, but the unease was simmering throughout the novel. However, the character studies and setting descriptions were unnerving, like Highsmith’s work.

While the book cover and description may give thriller vibes, the book is a psychological character study and reads more like general fiction with some psychological suspense.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.