a cracking crime debut with strong literary qualities - one to watch

Picked up at Meet. Going on Mount TBR.

I really enjoyed this. It's well written with good characterisations and a neat plot. If I have a criticism it is that the pace of the narrative is a bit uneven. It's a psychological crime thriller type of book rather than a police procedural or straight detective story. If you like Sophie Hannah's stuff you will probably like this.
For the record here is the synopsis from Amazon:-
'Jenny Shepherd is twelve years old and missing…


Her teacher, Sarah Finch, knows better than most that the chances of finding her alive are diminishing with every day she is gone.


As a little girl her older brother had gone out to play one day and never returned. The strain of never knowing what has happened to Charlie had ripped Sarah’s family apart. Now in her early twenties, she is back living at home, trapped with a mother who drinks too much and keeps her brother’s bedroom as a shrine to his memory.


Then, horrifically, it is Sarah who finds Jenny’s body, beaten and abandoned in the woods near her home. As she’s drawn into the police investigation and the heart of a media storm, Sarah’s presence arouses suspicion too. But it not just the police who are watching her...'

Sending to Plum-crazy as a swap. Enjoy.

Arrived today - thanks so much for this trade. I don't think it will be sat on my TBR mountain for long!

I had high hopes for this book after really enjoying "The Burning" & I'm pleased to say I was not disappointed! A gripping & compelling read which alternates between two periods of Sarah's life.

When Sarah discovers the body of a young girl, it re-awakens the memory of the disappearence of her older brother some 15 years before. The story splits itself between Sarah's involvement in the current murder enquiry & the enquiry into her brothers disappearence, showing the devastation it wreaked on her family (I really felt for the young Sarah in parts - so wanting her mothers love & approval but unable to compete with her missing brother) & I thought this format worked well.

All-in-all a really good read....I look forward to more by this author.

Read as part of the 2011 ULTIMATE CHALLENGE (#53)

Put into HerbertLooby's Thriller BookBox

Released as part of the 2011 ULTIMATE CHALLENGE

Taken from HerbertLooby's Thriller bookbox.

I really enjoyed this to start with and liked how the two timelines were done, but as the story went on I thought it got too unrealistic, the police told Sarah an awful lot of confidential information, for example and the ending just seemed a bit silly.

Left on the shelves.