Alright! I’m so excited to finally get to do a review of a book vs a movie/show. This will absolutely contain spoilers since there isn’t really a good way to compare things without including ALL the details.
Our spoiler-free review of the book is here, if you’re interested!
Alright, so we immediately noticed so many differences once starting the show. And while several differences are tiny and unimportant to the story, others are HUGE and greatly impact the plot.
I’m certain we’re missing things on our list, so feel free to let us know any differences you noticed while watching the show!
Let’s dive in, shall we? š
His & Hers, by Alice Feeney
- Jack’s Niece/ Zoe’s daughter
- In the book, her name was Olivia and she was 2 years old
- In the show, her name was Meg and while we’re unsure of her exact age, she seemed to be around 5 or 6
- Jack’s vehicle
- In the book, he had some old rust bucket
- In the show, he had a nice truck
- Anna’s Job Position
- In the book, she stepped in as a news anchor when Cat was out on maternity leave. When Cat returned from leave after about 2 years, she was given her job back and Anna was back to being a field reporter. Cat urged Anna to accept the job in Blackdown
- In the show, Anna originally had the anchor position, but after disappearing for a year, she was replaced by Lexy. Anna then asked to be a field reported for the recent murder in Dahlonega
- The Town
- In the book, the story took place in an English town called Blackdown
- In the show, the story took place in a town in Georgia, USA, called Dahlonega
- Anna’s Co-worker/ Competition
- In the book, her name was Cat Jones
- In the show, her name was Lexy Jones
- Richard’s Marriage/ Affair
- In the book, we found out Cat and Richard were married at the end of the book. Additionally, Richard and Anna had previously worked together and had an affair
- In the show, we knew right away that Richard and Lexy were married. Additionally, Richard and Anna didn’t work together previously or know each other. They slept together while in Dahlonega
- Richard as a suspect
- In the book, there wasn’t really anything pointing to him being a suspect until the very end, when the hotel reservation was cancelled and when we learned he was married to Cat. And then we learned that Cat had been aware of the affair
- In the show, Jack was behind Richard at a store while he was buying all sorts of suspicious items – bleach, zip ties, a hammer, etc. Really painted him out to be nefarious
- Rachel’s body & car
- In the book, her car was later located at Cat’s parents’ cabin and Rachel was found in the woods, on the ground
- In the show, her body was found on the hood of her car
- Rachel’s husband/ marriage
- In the book, Jack had no idea she was married because she said she wasn’t. Her husband was an elderly, bedridden, wealthy 82 year old man and was immediately cleared as a suspect
- In the show, Jack knew she was married and he demanded to be the one to tell the husband his wife died. Her husband was a man named Clyde Duffie – a middle aged, capable man who was most definitely a suspect. He was aware of Rachel’s infidelity, but they had an understanding because he had health issues and she had such a high libido. He’s seen talking with Helen after Rachel’s death and driving to a dumpster to throw away a suspicious bag (which is just some of his BDSM clothing and accessories).
- Anna & Jack’s marriage
- In the book, they had divorced
- In the show, they are still married, but separated
- Jack & Priya
- In the book, Priya didn’t have a nickname and she always referred to Jack as “sir” or “Boss”, though he kept telling her to call him Jack. Also, they kissed.
- In the show, Jack calls Priya “Boston” and she calls him “sir” but he never tells her not to. And they don’t kiss.
- Anna’s car
- In the book, it was a red mini (we know this because it was brought up several times)
- In the show, it wasn’t a red mini
- Anna’s childhood home
- In the book, it’s a small home and there were boxes everywhere, as Anna’s mom was packing to move. Also, Jack watched Anna from the car the first time she returned home
- In the show, the home is large and there were no boxes/things being packed. No mention of moving. And Jack just let himself in.
- Jack’s job
- In the book, Anna wanted space and a divorce. He didn’t, but he agreed and left town
- In the show, Jack lost his job
- The pathologist interaction
- In the book, it was a short interaction and the pathologist was an awkward man.
- In the show, there were several interactions and the pathologist was a female. She also asked for DNA swabs from all the people who were working the crime scene. Jack swabs Meg instead of himself.
- Past childhood memories
- In the book, Anna was looking at pictures and had flash backs
- In the show, Anna was watching a video camera and had some flash backs
- Catherine (as a child)
- In the book, she was super pale and sickly thin with knotted hair
- In the show, she was a fluffy girl
- Anna’s Alcohol use
- In the book, this was a huge focal point that was brought up regularly. Anna even kept a breathalyzer in her car.
- In the show, it wasn’t really mentioned as an issue at all.
- Helen
- In the book, Anna hadn’t had contact with Helen. She’s called by an unknown number to tip her off that Helen was killed. Also, when Helen was killed, she was found at the school with white powder under/on her nose, sitting in her chair with her shirt top opened and the word “Liar” stapled to her chest
- In the show, Anna went to the school where Helen worked to get some footage while Helen was still alive and then met with her. When she was killed, she was lying face down on a table, her eyes were stapled and “Liar” was written on her forehead
- Rachel’s phone & shoes
- In the book, Jack calls her phone and finds it in the trunk of his car, along with her shoes. Unlocking the phone was easy the passcode was her birthday.
- In the show, Clyde calls Rachel’s phone and Jack hears it vibrate in his vehicle, finding it between the seats. There is no mention of Rachel’s shoes. Unlocking the phone was difficult – he sneaks into the morgue to scan her face to unlock it.
- Jack’s smoking
- In the book, he smokes a lot and Priya keeps buying cigarettes for him
- In the show, he doesn’t smoke, but he does eat several bananas
- Rachel’s Fingernail Clippings
- In the book, Jack found them in a tic tac box in his vehicle’s glove box near the beginning of the book
- In the show, these are found at the end of the show, in Lexy’s home
- Catherine’s sister & death
- In the book, she was already dead when she was initially brought up. Cat said she died when she had an asthma attack and didn’t have her inhaler.
- In the show, she was initially still alive and Rachel thought she was cool. Cat intentionally sprayed out all the medicine from her sister’s inhaler and gave her sister the empty inhaler, causing her death
- Richard & Cat’s kids
- In the book, they have 2 girls
- In the show, they have none
- Coach Willie
- In the book, he didn’t exist.
- In the show, he points a gun at Jack when he goes to visit his daughter’s grave. Apparently, coach takes care of the tombstones. But they have cameras in the area, which Jack asks to see. He sees Anna visiting their daughter’s grave and seeing a car drive by the night of Rachel’s murder
- Anna’s dad
- In the book, he abused Anna’s mom, Alice, and threatened Anna, so she killed him and buried him in the back yard
- In the show, he’s barely mentioned. I believe there was 1 vague mention about him leaving.
- Rachel’s visit to an apartment, prior to her death
- In the book, it didn’t happen.
- In the show, a man called in with a tip. He said he took Rachel to the Luxe 11 apartments and that she came back with a red handprint on her face. It turns out that Lexy and Richard lived in that building.
- Anna’s mints
- In the book, she was obsessed and always eating them
- In the show, they were never mentioned
- Money reward for information
- In the book, there wasn’t one
- In the show, Clyde offered a $50,000 reward for whoever had answers about Rachel and Helen’s deaths
- Picture of the victims
- In the book, the killer marks an X over the face of the women after they’re killed
- In the show, this didn’t happen
- Zoe’s hair
- In the book, it was bright red – the same as the bloody bath water
- In the show, it was dark with some blue streaks
- Zoe’s death
- In the book, Jack comes home, sees the picture with Zoe’s face marked with an X, then goes to find her. Zoe is in the bath with her wrists cut, one eye sewn shut, and she had written “Andrews” on the wall in her blood
- In the show, Jack is looking through a yearbook when red water starts dripping on the counter, so he goes to investigate. Zoe’s in the tub, wrists cut, but no sewn eye or bloody message. Also, Jack cries and then leaves – what about Meg? Where was she?
- Zoe and the cats
- In the book, Anna gets a kitten, which is later taken by Zoe. Apparently Zoe has a shed full of cats that she only returns if there’s a reward. Otherwise, she cuts their fur and sews it into the clothing she makes
- In the show, Anna has no kitten and nothing is mentioned about Zoe stealing cats.
- Anna’s hotel room
- In the book, her mom snuck in several times, moving stuff around and taking care of Anna without her knowing
- In the show, nothing of the sort happened
- Cat’s parents’ house
- In the book, Richard didn’t know Cat came back to town when he went to the house. He took Anna there, then she hears him screaming because he was stabbed and hit in the head. He dies. She goes to check on him and sees Cat hanging from the ceiling.
- In the show, Lexy called and told Richard she was coming to town and had him film her interviewing Clyde. While at the house, Anna tries to call Jack, but Richard comes downstairs and takes her phone. Cat isn’t hanging from the ceiling and Richard isn’t stabbed/ hit in the head. He gets hateful with Anna and she pulls a gun from her purse and chases him around. Then there’s this dramatic fighting scene between Lexy and Anna where Lexy throws pool table balls and Anna loses a tooth? Lexy gets the gun and tries to shoot Anna, but then Jack and Priya are there. Lexy ends up shot and dead.
- Rachel’s Blackmail
- In the book, she tries to blackmail Anna to help with her charity organization
- In the show, she and Helen blackmail Lexy about her sister’s death, which honestly made no sense. They only ever hung out twice and both times were terrible, so why would she have ever shared her murder secret with them?
- The Birthday Party & Assault
- In the book, Anna invited Cat. The men paid to have their fun with Anna and Cat, but Anna fought and ran away. This was all detailed in a letter. Catherine was assaulted, but Anna was not, so Cat’s anger made sense.
- In the show, the other girls invited Cat to the party. Anna had been recording and the camera caught everything. Cat wasn’t assaulted, though she nearly was. Anna fought them off to try helping, so they assaulted her instead and Cat ran. Which makes Cat’s anger unjustified (in my opinion) and also, Anna told Jack that Cat was assaulted and the 3 girls watched. So that didn’t add up
- Whodunnit
- In the book, it was Anna’s mom. She planned on pinning everything on Jack.
- In the show, it was still the mom and planned on pinning everything on Cat. She left a letter explaining it all to Anna. But nothing really led up to it, and it didn’t make sense why Lexy and Richard were physically fighting with Anna, then, during that wild fight scene.
- One Year Later
- In the book, this part didn’t happen. The story just ends, though Jack and Anna do get back together
- In the show, Anna is pregnant. Her and Jack are back together and they’re taking care of Meg. And Anna’s mom is still at her house – she never moved out.
Well, that’s our list! 39 things that range from barely different to vastly different, which I think really impacted the story overall. I didn’t particularly love either version – the story or the show. I feel like both had their own unique plot holes and both could’ve been done differently to make things more logical and less absurd. But that is, of course, just opinion and it’s totally fine if you disagree. š
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