Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher HQ for giving me the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.
Expected: 28 May 2020
If there are two sides to every story, someone is always lying…
Jack: Three words to describe my wife: Beautiful. Ambitious. Unforgiving.
Anna: I only need one word to describe my husband: Liar.
When a woman is murdered in Blackdown village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Anna’s ex-husband, DCI Jack Harper, is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation.
Someone is lying, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.
The Review
As the title implies this was written in my favourite style with chapters alternating between 'His and Hers' side of the story. 'His being DCI Jack Harper the police detective leading a murder investigation and 'hers' being Anna Andrews a news presenter covering the story - with both quickly realising that they knew the victim.
This was a real fast-paced, addictive, conundrum that kept me guessing from start to finish. I didn't guess the eventual identity of the killer, continually changing my mind with every twist and turn, and indeed every chapter as alternating between Jack and Anna's conflicting perspectives. I particularly loved the ending which apparently is a trademark of Alice Feeney but which having not read her before I was totally unprepared for. In explanation, you think it's all over when the author starts wrapping things up, having led you to a convincing conclusion, but then on the very last page she delivers a massive u-turn with one crazy last twist.
The author is also known for putting the psycho in psychological thriller - and this was no exception. Pretty much every character could be considered slightly psychotic or flawed, dysfunctional, dark and disturbing at the very least. Weirdly though, despite not being likeable, I still found myself rooting for some of the characters - and as such was really pleased with the unexpected swerve ending.
In terms of the plot itself there was quite a lot going on - and unnecessarily so in my opinion. There was obviously the murder investigation, which naturally was linked to a long buried but not forgotten secret, but there were also two other incidents. You could argue these added more intrigue, red herrings, etc and one perhaps did provide a bit of context but the other was really irrelevant and just devalued it a bit as I thought "really, all that happened to one person?' Just a warning too that there were some sensitive themes covered. I can't give specifics without spoiling the plot and it was nothing too disturbing but just a bit darker, gritted than some.
Overall an addictive, unpredictable, page-turner with a great unexpected ending - definitely worth a read.
The author
Follow @alicewriterland on Twitter or find out more at www.alicefeeney.com
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