Now, we all know that I’m an absolute fiend for
a good psychological thriller and because I’m reading more and more of them, I’m
getting more and more picky over whether I enjoy them or not. I’ll start by
saying that I thought this one by Louise Jensen was incredibly good and I’m
absolutely blown away by the fact that this is a debut novel. Let me tell you
now: if my debut novel is anywhere near as good as this one, I’ll be over the moon.
The story is based around a girl, Grace, who
lives with her boyfriend shortly after the sudden death of her best friend. We
aren’t told, at first, how her best friend has died, nor are we sure whether or
not her death is homicide. We are aware though, that before her death, Charlie
admitted to doing something pretty horrendous and Grace is absolutely obsessed
with the idea of finding out what it is. Eventually, we are introduced to Anna,
Charlie’s half-sister, and from this point onwards everything seems to go
horribly wrong.
I was hooked on the story from the word go and
I was SO curious not only to find out the secret that Charlie had died keeping,
but also to find out the secret that Grace herself was holding onto. These two
mysteries are the ones that keep the story so interesting all the way through:
it’s pretty obvious from the word go who the perpetrator of the modern day
disasters that are being thrown Grace’s way, with the exception of a few twists
and turns here and there. I enjoyed the characterisation and the switch between
the present day and the past especially. I felt incredibly sorry for Grace and
really connected with her character. I have to say that I actually felt quite
anxious reading certain scenes, particularly since I was reading them at night.
I took special care in making sure my doors and windows were tightly locked
before going to bed, I’ll tell you that for nothing! I’d definitely recommend
this one to anyone who likes crime/thrillers, but you’ll have to wait a little
bit as it’s not released until July!
4/5.
