Later this summer, a total solar eclipse will be visible in the United States. Family members attending my brother’s wedding in Texas a few days earlier are making plans to drive home by way of Wyoming or Nebraska for optimal viewing of the spectacle. Erin Kelly’s new novel, HE SAID/SHE SAID, which centers on the misfortunes of a pair of “eclipse chasers,” may be the perfect summer read for them and others hoping to witness this rare cosmic event.

At the center of the book is a young couple --- Kit and Laura --- who meet shortly before a 1999 eclipse that should be visible from Cornwall, relatively close to their home in London. Kit is a bit of an eclipse junkie, having seen his first eclipse several years earlier in South America with his dad. Once he got the bug, he became obsessed, literally mapping out projected eclipses many years in the future and making plans to see as many as he possibly can. Now he is head-over-heels in love with Laura and eager to bring her into the fold. He is pleased when, overwhelmed by the mystery and power of the event, she grows nearly as enamored of the spectacle as he is.

"...a really absorbing, consistently surprising suspense novel --- the perfect kind of book to tuck into your backpack if you’re also headed on a road trip to see this summer’s historic eclipse."

But the couple’s short-term euphoria (even though the weather is relatively uncooperative, and they can only catch a fleeting glimpse of the phenomenon) is harshly interrupted when, a few minutes after the event, they stumble upon what appears to be a rape in progress. Soon Laura and Kit are involved --- as witnesses and, eventually, even more intimately in the life of Beth, the woman who has survived the rape.

HE SAID/SHE SAID unfolds in a complex structure. The story is told in two different time frames: the events leading up to and immediately following that 1999 eclipse, as well as the present day. It’s also told from two different points of view: Laura’s and Kit’s. When we meet them in 2015, they are nearly 40, and Laura is pregnant with their twins. But it’s clear that the couple --- who now go by different names --- is also still struggling to recover from trauma related to what unfolded after the Cornwall eclipse nearly two decades earlier.

Erin Kelly is deservedly known as a master of surprise endings, and HE SAID/SHE SAID is no exception. It’s nearly impossible to write much about the plot without providing spoilers, so I won’t; suffice it to say that readers will have their expectations turned inside out and upside down several times over the course of the book. In doing so, Kelly also raises issues about rape culture, victim-blaming and trust between partners. Primarily, though, HE SAID/SHE SAID is just a really absorbing, consistently surprising suspense novel --- the perfect kind of book to tuck into your backpack if you’re also headed on a road trip to see this summer’s historic eclipse.