Behind Her Eyes author defends ‘preposterous’ twist ending

Both the book and the series have polarised audiences over its ‘bizarre’ plot

The author who wrote the novel that inspired Netflix’s hit seriesBehind Her Eyes has responded to the controversy over its twist ending.

Sarah Pinborough’s book of the same name was published in 2017, and marketed with the #WTFthatending.

The Netflix series stars Simona Brown as Louise, a single mother who has a romantic encounter with a man in a bar, only to discover he is her new boss, who also happens to be married.

David is played by Tom Bateman, while Eve Hewson stars as his wife Adele, whom Louise befriends.

As Louise tries to navigate her new friendship alongside her growing feelings for David, she witnesses the growing instability of the marriage.

The series has received mixed reviews, with many critics taking aim at the ending that has made the book so famous. The Independent’s review branded the twist “bizarre”.

“I wanted it to hit all the beats of a regular thriller,” Pinborough told The Guardian of her book. “The clues had to be there. At first I thought it was going to be really easy to write, but it was quite hard. Everything had to have dual meaning, so that no one could say this character lied. I would have hated that.”

Pinborough said she was relaxed about the polarised reactions to the twist ending, which some readers said was “preposterous” in reviews online.

“I don’t mind people who hate the book,” she said. “I’d rather they hate it than be indifferent. What I don’t like is when people say, ‘She didn’t know how to end this book, she tacked on this ending.’ I’m like, ‘Go back and read it again, do your homework!’”

Behind Her Eyes is available to watch on Netflix now. Read The Independent’s review here.