Nobody But Us by Laure Van Rensburg

 

Ellie and Steven head to a romantic getaway at a beautiful house in the forest. Complete isolation so they won't be disturbed. Everything is perfect, the house, the setting, the food, the sex. However things suddenly take a sinister turn.

The story focuses on a very mismatched couple. Ellie is 23, a graduate student, disorganised, clumsy and impressionable. From early descriptions I imagined Ellie as a Bambi-style character, struggling to find her feet. The other character, Ellie's boyfriend, is Steven. Steven is a 40 year old English professor. He is the complete opposite of Ellie, he's calm, dignified, organised, self-assured.

The story switches between Ellie and Steven, giving each persons perspective on the events. We quickly realise that Steven is a sugar daddy type character and Ellie isn't his first conquest or even his youngest. Steven comes across as a loathsome predator. He describes relationships with vulnerable women as "superficial" and "scratching an itch" when challenged. He thinks that opening doors, buying flowers or paying for meals entitles him to "payback". I had absolutely no sympathy for the character, he made my skin crawl.

As the story progresses we realise that Ellie isn't the person we initially thought she was, throughout the early days of the relationship she was wearing a mask or disguise. With the advent of the weekend away she abandons the disguise. My feelings towards Ellie chopped and changed. I had sympathy for her, however the drawn out nature of her plan, along with her melodramatic nature, meant that the sympathy wasn't sustained throughout the novel.

Occasionally there is a third voice. We don't know who this third voice is but it is obvious they are connected to Steven. I found the fact we didn't know who this third person was very unsettling, never quite sure how they were going to impact on the events taking place. 

As events escalate you feel the terror, particularly from Steven. As the story moves towards it's conclusion the terror escalates and you wonder if anyone is going to survive the weekend.